Ara Dolatian: Finalist – McClelland Maquette Sculpture Award 2025

McClelland is proud to announce the 62 finalists for the inaugural Maquette: Sculpture Award, selected from an impressive pool of 252 entries. This new $20,000 acquisitive award, generously supported by celebrated Australian artist Rick Amor, honours sculptural skill and expression and will see the winning work enter the McClelland collection.

The title of this new sculpture prize refers to the scale of the entries—no more than 50 centimetres in any dimension. Finalists were selected by artist Lisa Roet and McClelland’s Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Byrne, with the winning work to be chosen by acclaimed sculptor John Meade.

Lisa Byrne shared: “The Maquette: Sculpture Award is a celebration of the sculptor’s imagination at its most distilled. We’re proud to support artists working in this vital medium and to welcome a new generation of sculptural ideas into the McClelland collection.”

The finalists’ works comprise a dynamic representation of contemporary sculpture, showcasing innovation, materiality and conceptual depth. Their works will be exhibited at McClelland from Saturday 22 November 2025 to Sunday 22 March 2026, offering audiences a unique glimpse into the sculptural process.

Ara Dolatian, Memory, 2025, Earthenware, glaze, stain, adhesive, filler, 49cm h 17cm w 18cm d