Young artist wins People’s Choice Award at New Wave 26

We congratulate Year 12 Balcombe Grammar student, Sophie Nicholls on recently winning the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery People’s Choice Award, at the New Wave 26 Exhibition.

Voted on by the public during the course of the exhibition, over 200 people casted votes and Sophie’s painting – The Human Condition (2025) ultimately secured the most votes.

Sophie writes in her artist statement for that my goal is for viewers to recognise fragments of themselves within my art, not because they share my experiences, but because they understand the emotions behind them, creating connection through our shared, uniquely human, journey.

Photograph kindly supplied by Kinfolk Imagery (@kinfolkimagery)