A painting celebrating maternal connection has earned Sarah Veli the title of 2025 winner at the artX Metro exhibition.

Sarah was announced as the winner on Thursday 4 September, at the artX Metro exhibition opening in the Banksia Gallery at Darebin Arts Centre in Preston, Victoria. 

Her piece, Mother & Baby, was chosen as the winner across 89 submissions, with judges describing the artwork as “evoking a powerful emotional response.”

“It’s a fresh and original interpretation of a timeless theme that resonates both aesthetically and emotionally.”

The painting shows a smiling figure of a woman with blonde hair and a yellow dress holding a baby wrapped in a patterned blanket with a green beanie. 

Sara was inspired by her relationship with her own mother and carried that influence through her painting until its completion in August 2025.

“I have a strong connection with my mother, and I hope that is what people feel when they see my painting,” Sarah said.

When asked about the challenges of creating the piece, Sara reflected on moving from her usual medium into something new.

“I mostly draw on paper with coloured pencils. Studio staff suggested the idea of painting the image onto a piece of canvas.

“I became very excited when I saw the image drawn so big and now I am looking forward to making more large-scale paintings on canvas.”

The major prize included the first-prize trophy, a $250 gift voucher to spend on art supplies and genU purchasing the artwork to display in the artX Hall of Fame at genU’s head office in Belmont.

Runner-up was artX Metro 2024 winner Joshua Taphouse for Polychromatic 1, with three artists receiving a Highly Commended award – Lukudu David for Galatic Dreams, Amanda Hooper for The Storm, and Darcy Evans for Comic World. Carol-Anne (Caz) Freeling was granted the Olga Murray Award, named after the arts teacher at genU Northcote for 38 years before her retirement in early 2024.

genU Program Manager Melissa Elston highlighted the importance of the yearly event.

“We are proud to host this annual exhibition and competition that embraces diversity and inclusion and celebrates the amazing artistic and creative talent in the Melbourne metro and Wyndham areas,” she said.

“That’s why it gives us such enormous satisfaction to hold our artX events – to help showcase artists and their artwork to the local community and allow families to see this appreciation firsthand.”

This year’s judges included Bronwyn Ryan-Mercer, an experienced multi-arts producer and long-time programmer at the City of Darebin, and Sarah Werkmeister, Curator at Bundoora Homestead with a Master of Art Curatorship from the University of Melbourne.

The event was proudly sponsored by GH Commercial, whose support helped make this year’s artX Metro exhibition possible.

artX Metro 2025 – winners

First Prize tropy: Sarah Veli, Mother and Baby

Runner-up trophy: Joshua Taphouse, Polychromatic 1

Highly Commended: Lukudu David, Galatic Dreams, Amanda Hooper, The Storm, Darcy Evans, Comic World

Olga Murray award: Carol-Anne (Caz) Freeling