Atong Atem

Few would guess that the fervent applause greeting artist and inaugural La Prairie Art Prize recipient Atong Atem on a recent afternoon at the Art Gallery of New South Wales would prompt a key moment of self-realisation.

“I knew what the prize was. And I knew what the award was. But it wasn’t until we were actually doing the events that it was like, ‘Oh my god, this is for me’,” the photographic