Artist Loribelle Spirovski has captured the public’s imagination, winning the 2025 Archibald Prize People’s Choice Award for her finger-painted portrait of renowned didgeridoo player William Barton. This accolade, accompanied by a $5,000 prize, is determined by public votes from the Archibald Prize finalists, and this year saw a record-breaking 40,842 votes cast.
Spirovski, a four-time finalist in Australia’s most prestigious portraiture competition, expressed her joy and gratitude upon receiving the award. “I am infinitely grateful to William for allowing me to paint him and so humbled by everyone’s responses to the work,” she stated. “It has been a difficult few years and this whole experience is the most beautiful reprieve and reward.”
The Artist and Her Inspiration
Born in 1990 in the Philippines to Filipino and Serbian parents, Spirovski immigrated to Australia at the age of eight. Mostly self-taught, she has previously been a finalist in the Archibald Prize in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Her journey to this year’s People’s Choice Award was marked by a unique artistic process.
Spirovski and Barton first met at a concert where her partner, concert pianist Simon Tedeschi, performed alongside Barton. At the time, Spirovski was recovering from a nerve injury that impaired her ability to paint traditionally. However, she found inspiration in Barton’s music. “When it came time to work on William’s portrait, I played his composition Birdsong at Dusk,” she explained. “As the music began, my hand set the brush aside and I dipped my finger into the soft, pliant paint. I turned the volume up, the music guiding me. Without a brush, painting was almost painless. As the portrait painted itself, I felt alive in a way I hadn’t for a very long time.”
William Barton: A Cultural Bridge
Barton, a Kalkadunga man and acclaimed composer, is celebrated for his virtuosity with the yidaki, or didgeridoo, and his efforts to blend Indigenous Australian culture with European classical music. He has performed with orchestras around the world and has expressed a desire “to take the oldest culture in the world and blend it with Europe’s rich musical legacy.”
Recognition and Other Awards
The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) hosts the Archibald Prize annually. On Thursday, AGNSW director Maud Page congratulated Spirovski for her “well-deserved win and for her magnetic portrait of William Barton, rendered with expressive paint strokes and lit by Barton’s radiant smile.”
This year, the $100,000 Archibald Prize was awarded to Julie Fragar for her portrait of fellow artist Justene Williams. The Archibald Prize, now in its 104th year, honors the best portrait of a person “distinguished in art, letters, science or politics” painted by an Australian resident.
Abdul Abdullah received the $3,000 Packing Room Prize for his portrait of artist Jason Phu, a decision made by AGNSW staff responsible for hanging the paintings. The Wynne Prize for landscape painting and figurative sculpture, and the Sulman Prize for genre, subject, and mural painting, are also awarded alongside the Archibald each year. This year, the $50,000 Wynne Prize went to Jude Rae for “Pre-dawn Sky over Port Botany Container Terminal,” while the $40,000 Sulman Prize was awarded to Gene A’Hern for “Sky Painting.”
Exhibition and Future Prospects
A record 2,394 entries were received across the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman prizes this year, with more than 70% of finalists being female artists. All finalists will be exhibited at AGNSW until August 17. Following this, the Archibald finalists will tour to various locations including Geelong, Gosford, Muswellbrook, Mudgee, Shoalhaven, and Coffs Harbour later this year and into 2026.
The recognition of Spirovski’s work not only highlights her unique artistic approach but also underscores the evolving landscape of Australian art, where diverse voices and innovative techniques continue to shape the country’s cultural narrative.
