Lucy Wu winner of the 2025 Hadley’s Student Prize
Posted on September 26, 2025
The Friends’ School is proud to announce that Year 12 student, Lucy Wu, has won the 2025 Hadley’s Student Prize for her painting The Sky Inside the Window.
This prize is for an outstanding artwork by an Australian student working with a landscape theme in their visual art practice under the age of 20 years of age. Judged by art education specialists at the University of Tasmania and Art Education Australia.
Lucy’s work reimagines a family trip from Hobart to Huonville, framing the landscape through the window of a car. Birds and planes rise into a glowing sky while her younger self rides a toy car in the foreground, symbolising the first steps of independence.
The judges described Lucy’s painting as having “a tender, dreamlike quality” with confident colours that create “a poetic atmosphere.”
Art teacher Hamish Hall, who has taught Lucy for the past five years, praised her achievement:
“Lucy has always approached her work with imagination and skill. This award is a wonderful recognition of her talent and the personal voice she has developed through her art. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Alongside Lucy’s success, two other Friends’ students from Hamish’s classes; Rachael Miller and Ione Rawlings-Way, were awarded Honourable Mentions, highlighting the strength and creativity of the school’s Visual Arts program.
Lucy receives a $500 prize presented by the University of Tasmania. The Hadley’s Art Prize is proudly presented by Hadley’s Orient Hotel and supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania.
