UB Lucato Peace Prize winner announced

THE LIFE-CHANGING experiences of refugees inspired the work that was awarded this year's University of Ballarat Lucato Peace Prize.Master of Arts student Philip Berry received $2000 yesterday for his work entitled Unclaimed Baggage.In his artist statement, Mr Berry said his work reflected the life of refugees who were often fleeing conflict and persecution and spending their savings risking their life and that of their families."Their journey should remind us all of how lucky we Australians are," the statement read. "We need to understand conflict and its consequences, and help anyone affected by it. We need to think about the meaning of peace to us. We need to work for it, embrace it, and everyone who seeks it."The Lucato Peace Prize is sponsored by George Lucato who established it more than 30 years ago.Mr Lucato said the idea for the prize started when he told his lecturer that peace was always better than war."Some people said I should put my money where my mouth is, so when I became a teacher I was prepared to foster this prize forever," Mr Lucato said."The prize promotes peace over war, and art at the same time."Master of Arts student Michael Grant won second prize for his work entitled Drifting No. 1 and 2, tracking his personal pilgrimage to the battlefields of Papua New Guinea.Mr Grant said it was important that peace be promoted as much as possible and one way this could be achieved was through the arts.