I n the busy line drawing (right), of Akis Art Prize junior winner Ngaire Leka, men, women and children crowd every available space, portraying different aspects of PNG life – but it is the words that jump out from the lively scene. Written on protest placards, on books, t-shirts and signs, words such as, ‘More churches’, ‘More schools’, ‘Make PNG safe!!!!’ and ‘No rape, no violence, no anger’ show what is uppermost in the mind of this 10-year-old PNG schoolgirl. Explaining her entry, Ngaire wrote of her hopes for a clean “not smelly” environment, a country with an economy dependent on agriculture, and where culture is preserved and celebrated. She finished with, “I want to see peace not war, I want to see many churches in the area where tribal wars and crime exist, and for people to become God fearing.” The thoughtful youngster’s hopes for tomorrow, expressed in art form, were among more than 2000 works entered last year in PNG’s first major art competition, the Akis Art Prize. These included drawings, sketches, illustrations and paintings that depicted everything from visions of trains connecting the country and futuristic cities, to an astronaut planting a PNG flag on the moon. The subject matter chosen by the artists in their entries was also remarked on by Lee Dula, representing the competition’s major sponsor ExxonMobil PNG. As well as providing an artistic window into the dreams and aspirations of Papua New Guineans, Lee said that for donors and philanthropic partners such as Exxon, the entries were also really instructive. “They provide insights into areas where investments can be made that will help accelerate these aspirations on those canvases,”
Akis Junior Art Prize winner, “Unreachable Future”, Biro on Paper, by Ngaire Leka, 10 (below)
the public and government affairs manager said. “Some of those themes were certainly the road-building, the strengthening of schools or teacher housing, expanding scholarships, access to books, and even rural electrification. Those are things as a donor I take away.” From young children taking their first artistic steps with colouring pencils, to established artists “I want to see peace not war”
VOLUME 41 2025
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