Luminous glass crown wins Waterhouse Prize People’s Choice, SA Museum, 3 July 2026

A beautifully-luminous glass crown has been named a clear winner of the South Australian
Museum’s Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize People’s Choice award.
Soft Echo by Akie Haga from the Australian Capital Territory was also a finalist in the
Open category, which was ultimately won by Deb McKay’s Ghosts of Our Coastal Waters.
Akie’s piece was comfortably the viewer favourite, collecting more than 10 percent of over
2,000 votes cast for the 74 finalists.

The winner of the People’s Choice award, which is proudly supported by Sonya Hender
and Ron Langman, receives a $5,000 prize. Akie’s piece was also quickly sold for $7,500
after the Waterhouse exhibition opened at the Museum in April.
Soft Echo is a delicate glass crown shaped after the flannel flower, which Akie describes
as a meditation on memory, belonging, and renewal. It is a flameworked borosilicate glass
sculpture composed of translucent blossoms and branching growths.

Each element is individually shaped, layered and assembled, forming a luminous cluster of
flannel flower forms. Subtle opalescent colour and fine detail emphasise movement,
fragility and the delicacy of natural structures.

The Waterhouse Prize is produced by the South Australian Museum and would not be
possible without the support of the South Australian Museum Foundation (Open Prize
Sponsor), Hill Smith Art Advisory (Emerging Prize Sponsor), Sonya Hender and Ron
Langman (People’s Choice Sponsor), JamFactory (People’s Choice draw prize) and
Visualcom (Production Partner).

The Waterhouse Prize exhibition is in its final weeks at the South Australian Museum,
closing Sunday 19 July.

Tickets can be purchased online or at the door by card only. Find more on the South
Australian Museum’s website.

Comments attributable to People’s Choice winner Akie Haga
As a Japanese-born artist living in Australia, I navigate the quiet tension between two
landscapes.

My childhood memory of weaving clover crowns in Japan resurfaced through this
Australian native, a fire-responsive species that returns after bushfire, its seeds stirred
awake by heat and ash.

Formed in soft, translucent white glass, subtly uneven and shifting, the work mirrors the
nature of memory itself — fragile, luminous, and resilient through change.
Comments attributable to South Australian Museum Director Dr Samantha Hamilton
The People’s Choice Award highlights the powerful connection visitors make with the
artworks in the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize.

Akie’s winning work clearly resonates with audiences, and it’s easy to see why. The piece
is both beautiful and compelling, drawing people in and encouraging them to look more
closely at the natural world.

The diversity of the survey of works is one of the strengths of the Waterhouse Natural
Science Art Prize, and each artwork tells a unique story and connects with people in
different and meaningful ways.

Comments attributable to Kyam Maher MLC, Minister for Arts
Congratulations to Akie Haga on winning the People’s Choice Award for the Museum’s
Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize.
The Waterhouse Prize showcases the remarkable ways artists engage with and interpret
the world around us, inspiring creativity and conversations.
It is great to see so many people engaging with this year’s exhibition and casting their
vote, highlighting the important role arts and our cultural institutions play in connecting
communities with science, nature and the environment.

Visitors are encouraged to see the exhibition at the South Australian Museum, on display
until Sunday 19 July.