Young Archie 2026
Thirteen-year-old Viraj Tandon could well be a “veteran” at the Young Archie 2026 competition. This year the Sydney Grammar student notches up his third shortlist at the Art Gallery of NSW’s children’s portrait competition that runs alongside the Archibald Prize.
Speaking to Indian Link, his quiet confidence and clarity seem to sit comfortably with this growing artistic experience.
“It felt great to be a finalist,” he says. “I felt I have progressed my style.”
How so, we ask.
“In my first portrait of my grandfather, I used vivid palettes,” he describes. “My second portrait of my grandparents included finer details. This time round, I’ve combined both… but I still have a lot to learn.”
This year his subject is his cousin Angad.
Angad is a psychiatrist and a musician, and Viraj’s portrait of him includes both aspects of his work.
On one side stands the doctor, stethoscope around his neck – composed and precise, eyes observant and alert. On the other side, the same figure is softened and relaxed, in DJ mode, as the disco ball shimmers overhead.
The two images are separated by a clear window, and the scene outside is one Viraj has a particular passion for: urban landscape. It depicts Fitzroy in Melbourne, where Angad lives, in its striking mix of old-world charm and edgy energy.
It adds to the push and pull between two selves that gives this portrait its depth – science and art, discipline and abandon – and provides the work its title, Reflections by Viraj.
Six-year-old artist George Rajagopalan of Adelaide explains in some detail how he worked on his grandfather’s beard. “I drew zigzag lines – long lines then little lines and then some more long lines and little lines.”
There’s a clarity in the way he explains it – and suddenly, we begin to see the artist at work. It earned him a shortlist for his portrait Poppy.
Poppy is a farmer, and George makes that unmistakably clear.
“I was excited when I heard, and so was my art teacher,” George reveals.
“Poppy was excited too, he couldn’t believe it,” Mum Jessica laughs. “He was a reluctant participant, and it did not occur to him that he would be a finalist!”
Poppy hasn’t seen the portrait yet (he lives some distance away), but has seen a photo Jessica sent him.
“Poppy and Thatha and Patti are all very proud of my hard work,” George says. They are all coming up to Sydney in the school holidays to see the exhibition.
The young artist worked from a photo of his Poppy that his mum had taken, creating his piece with tempera paint, HB pencil and blackline marker on cartridge paper.
Jessica reveals that art teacher Catherine Puckridge at St Andrews School, Walkerville, picked ten artworks for the Young Archie 2026 competition. “We are very grateful for the encouragement and support she has provided.”
Meanwhile, this possible Archibald Prize finalist of the future reveals that he has been painting since he was two – his work hangs in pride of place at home and at his parents’ workplaces.
“I was shocked – and excited – when I heard I’m in the Young Archie,” Hitha Manupuri tells Indian Link.
Her portrait Strength – that’s my grandma is a tribute to her Ammuma who lives in Bangalore, India.
The portrait is rendered with an almost tactile realism – the silk of the saree catching the light in soft, shifting glints, and pallu arranged with careful precision, each fold held exactly where it should be. Each strand of black-and-white hair is carefully observed, jasmine string nestling closely. The necklaces rest with quiet precision against the chest, their weight and placement perfectly understood. But it is the face that holds you – eyes lit with warmth, and a smile that doesn’t just sit on the lips but lingers, gentle and shy.
It is a picture of dignity and grace.
It is not surprising that the Year 10 student’s art teacher at Huntingtower School Mt Waverley (Melbourne) “was thrilled”.
“I picked my grandma because I love her so much,” Hitha says.
She created her portrait with wax-based pencils, working from a photograph that is two years old.
“Ammuma was very happy when she saw my drawing,” Hitha reports. “I myself can’t wait to see it on the walls of the AGNSW – we’re coming up in July!”
Her mum Thriveni chimes in, “The shortlist was a big surprise, but we are very proud. I look at the drawing and think my mum is about to step out of the frame! Mum is currently recovering from a heart attack, and so this drawing – and being picked as a finalist at this point in time – both seem especially meaningful.”
Hitha meanwhile is now certain that art will be a major part of her life, at least in the near future. “Definitely picking Visual Arts as a subject for my VCE,” she says, revealing a recent burgeoning interest in French artist Claude Monet.
See all the Young Archie 2026 finalists here
