Paul Knight wins $40,000 National Photography Prize for intimate Chamber Music series

New South Wales photographer Paul Knight secured the $40,000 National Photography Prize with his Chamber Music series that examines his partnership.

Paul Knight, a photographer based in Ettalong Beach, New South Wales, was named the winner of the National Photography Prize at the Murray Art Museum Albury, taking home the $40,000 Audray Banfield Award. His Chamber Music series, which reflects on his personal relationship, stood out among 12 finalists selected by a curatorial committee that included MAMA CEO Blair French and First Nations Curator Alinta Maguire. The award, part of Australia’s longest-running acquisitive photography competition, also saw Morgan Hogg receive the $5,000 Emerging Artist Award for "Silver Tongues," a work exploring Cook Island dance and underworld water spirits.

More than 330 artists entered, and the finalists’ works are now exhibited at MAMA through November 22. Senior curator Natasha Bullock praised the finalists for expanding photography’s possibilities, while MAMA officials highlighted the prize’s focus on a body of work created over the past two years. The prize amount was increased from $30,000 to $40,000 this year and now bears the name of the late Audray Banfield.