Dharug man Tom Duffy was one of three artists honoured with the 'most exceptional' prize at the 2025 Hatched: National Graduate Show's Dr Harold Schenberg Arts Awards on Friday.

Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) announced the award-recipients of the Awards – the country's most prestigious exhibition and art prize for recent art school graduates – presented to three Hatched artists in recognition of their outstanding talent and to support their professional and artistic development.

Celebrating Hatched's 34th year, the awards were presented by acclaimed Kamilaroi/Bigambul artist and Hatched alum, guest judge Archie Moore at Friday's PICA After Dark: Opening Night Party; held at the 3,500 sqm off-site Hatched 2025 venue in the heart of Perth's CBD, open from 2 August to 5 October.

Mr Duffy, of the University of Wollongong, was honoured for his painting triptych 'Djagats' (The Newly Arrived/Native Dignity), alongside Grace Yong of Curtin University (WA), for their video work '她的 ... her name, an anthology', and Samuel Chan of National Art School (NSW) for their performance and installation works 'Sanguine Fever Dream, At Eventuality's End, Embrace and Transfiguration'.

Now in its 16th year, the Dr Harold Schenberg Arts Awards – totalling $50,000 – is the largest prize pool for emerging artists in Australia and are made possible by funds bequeathed to the University of Western Australia by Dr Schenberg. The Awards consist of three $15,000 'most exceptional' prizes and a $5,000 People's Choice Award, which is presented at the end of the exhibition.

Since 1992, Hatched has served as a platform for emerging artists, helping to launch the careers of notable Australian figures such as Mr Moore, Khaled Sabsabi, Julie Gough, Dennis Golding and Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran. As the country's only national survey of art school graduates, the exhibition plays a vital role in fostering artistic development and helping artists transition into the professional art world.

Mr Duffy uses archival imagery to challenge colonial narratives and reframe representations of First Nations people. His triptych Djagats (The Newly Arrived/Native Dignity) 2024, reimagines Samuel Thomas Gill's colonial depictions, blending traditional patterns and possum fur with European attire to reclaim clothing as a symbol of Indigenous pride and resistance.

The judging panel noted "we kept returning to and thinking about the complexity of the themes, contexts and strategies at play in this work".

"We were impressed by the risk taking involved in tackling appropriation as a decolonising strategy. The artist also demonstrates a confident handling of paint as a material language, and we are excited to see where future work with his own personal archive takes him."

Mr Duffy told National Indigenous Times Djagats is "about representation and how Indigenous people in the past have been represented".

"The work is responding to some archival imagery that's in the State Library of New South Wales. There are these works by an artist called Samuel Thomas Gill, who was working in the 19th century, and he presented Aboriginal people in a way that wasn't ideal.

"I wanted to rework these to be able to create an image of strength and resilience for Aboriginal people. And with that, I was kind of looking at clothing and how in history for Aboriginal people, clothing was used as a weapon against them to remove culture. And so, I wanted to flip that and use clothing as a symbol of power. And also look at possum fur, the craft of possum fur, and how that was a craft that was sleeping. And now that it's been a reawakened it's now become this symbol of cultural resilience that this, even though in our history we've our culture has been taken away from us, we're now bringing it all back awake again."

Mr Duffy said Hatched was a great opportunity for emerging artists.

"I think it's incredible that this such a big opportunity like this even exists for us artists who are just so early on in our career," he told National Indigenous Times.

"It's huge and it's such an honour to be amongst all these really competent artists that have done these amazing works and to have our works looked after by such an awesome team as well.

"And they're all taking it very seriously, very professionally. It feels surreal. And to be in this new space and be the first group to actually take Hatched to somewhere else is an honour as well."

Guest judge Mr Moore, an internationally renowned artist, told National Indigenous Times he was an exhibiting artist in the Hatched 1998 when he was graduating from QUT.

"Hatched is a national exhibition of emerging artists who are graduating from university. It's an opportunity for them to bridge that space between being an emerging artist into professional development, networking opportunities and getting to show their work and meeting other artists," he said.

"For First Nations artists, Hatched can be an opportunity to meet other people in the art world and industry. So, there'll be professionals from art galleries and collectors and other artists as well. And other Indigenous artists are here exhibiting. I haven't seen the whole show yet, but I've seen one Kamilaroi artist on the way in.

"So it's a way to get your work to be seen to a lot of different people who could provide you with opportunities for greater exposure in Australia."

In the midst of a remarkable career, including his work 'kith and kin' becoming in 2024 the first Australian exhibition to win the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at La Biennale de Venezia, Mr Moore told National Indigenous Times he continues to strive.

"You've always got to do better than your last work, I think… Last work was very monumental and got a lot of exposure," he said.

"For emerging artists, I think (Hatched) will help them get to somewhere that's with greater opportunities and could lead to scholarships or prizes or other kind of monetary benefits as well.

"I think one of the helpful things to do is persevere with your artwork, your ideas, what you're trying to say, what you are saying, what you're exploring and advancing with that exploration.

"And don't compromise. That's what I've been doing, making my own work. I haven't been changing my work or my ideas to suit some other purpose to get seen. I've been around a long time doing what I'm doing."

Mr Moore said he was "impressed by the potential of all the artists".

"But there were some works that really stood out with a high standard and level of professionalism, as if they're not early-career artists at all. Their works are very elegant, refined and resolved, they're well thought-out and speak to personal histories but also universal experiences that anyone from any culture can understand," he said.

Joining Mr Moore for the 2025 Dr Harold Schenberg Arts Awards judging panel were Hannah Mathews (PICA Director/CEO) and Dr Theo Costantino (Director, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, UWA).

Showcasing the next generation of Australia's contemporary creative voices, this year's Hatched exhibition presents the work of 23 recent art school graduates from 20 art schools across the country.

For the first time in its history, Hatched is being presented in a light-filled office building in Perth's Forrest Chase, generously provided by ISPT. Situated in the heart of the CBD – adjacent to Perth's central train station, university and cultural precinct – this dynamic location offers new opportunities for students, artists and the public to engage with the exhibition.

Hatched is made possible by major Exhibition Partner the Minderoo Foundation, Venue Partner ISPT/Forrest Chase and the generosity of PICA's Art 1000 Donors.

Hatched National Graduate Show 2025 is now open from 2 August – 5 October in Forrest Chase.