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Art prizes in Australia 2027

Planning your year of entries? Here are the Australian art prizes running in 2027, from the Archibald to small sculpture and print awards: when entries open, what they cost, what you can win and who's eligible. Checked October 2026.

Christopher Myles Henderson's paint table in his Melbourne studio

Most Australian art prizes run on a yearly loop: entries open, entries close, finalists, a winner, a show. Miss the window and you wait a year. This guide puts the main ones in one place so you can plan.

For each prize we've listed who can enter, what you can win, what it costs to enter and when entries open. Only a handful have announced their 2027 dates so far. For the rest we've given last round's dates, which is usually a good guide to when the next one opens. Check each prize's own page before you enter, because rules change.

Quick answers

  • Open right now: the Burnie Print Prize (closes 30 October 2026), the Ramsay Art Prize (11 December 2026), the Glover Prize (22 January 2027) and the Telstra NATSIAA (22 February 2027).
  • Opening soon: the Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize opens 4 November 2026, and SWELL Sculpture Festival opens 1 December 2026.
  • Biggest prizes: the Archibald, the Ramsay, Hadley's and the Telstra Art Award, at $100,000 each.
  • Free to enter: the Telstra NATSIAA and the City of Sydney's Australian Life photography competition.
  • For artists under 40: the Ramsay Art Prize.
  • For emerging artists: the churchie emerging art prize, plus emerging awards inside the Lester, Ravenswood, Burnie and SWELL.
  • For women artists: the Portia Geach Memorial Award and the Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize.
  • For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists: the Telstra NATSIAA.
  • For photographers: the Bowness Photography Prize, Australian Life and the Olive Cotton Award.
  • For sculptors: Sculpture by the Sea, SWELL, and the Woollahra and Deakin small sculpture prizes.
  • For makers: Contemporary Wearables (jewellery), the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award, and the Burnie and Fremantle print prizes.

Open now

Burnie Print Prize, Burnie, Tasmania

Burnie Arts runs this biennial print prize. It's for traditional printmaking: relief, intaglio, planographic or stencil. Painting, photography and digital art aren't eligible.

  • Who can enter: artists aged 18 and over who live and work in Australia. One work, made after 30 October 2024, and it must be for sale.
  • Prize: $18,000 (acquisitive), plus a $5,000 Emerging Artist award and $1,000 Public Vote
  • Entry fee: $50
  • Entries close: midday, Friday 30 October 2026
  • Winner announced: 19 March 2027. Exhibition 20 March to 29 May 2027.

Ramsay Art Prize, Adelaide

The Art Gallery of South Australia runs one of the richest prizes in the country, and it's only for artists under 40.

  • Who can enter: Australian citizens or permanent residents living in Australia, aged over 18 and under 40 on 11 December 2026. Individuals, duos and collectives.
  • What: any medium, scale or subject, made after 11 December 2025
  • Prize: $100,000 (acquisitive, the work enters the AGSA collection), plus a $15,000 People's Choice
  • Entry fee: $50
  • Entries close: 5pm Adelaide time, 11 December 2026
  • Winner announced: 6 May 2027. Exhibition 7 May to 15 August 2027.
Artist Jack Ball stands in a dark grey gallery among a suspended and wall-mounted installation of black and white photographic cut-outs, orange forms and purple fabric.
Jack Ball with Heavy Grit, Ramsay Art Prize 2025, Art Gallery of South Australia. Photo: Saul Steed. Image courtesy Art Gallery of South Australia

Glover Prize, Evandale, Tasmania

The John Glover Society runs Australia's big landscape prize, named after the colonial painter John Glover. The painting has to be of a Tasmanian landscape, but you don't have to paint it in Tasmania.

  • Who can enter: anyone, including interstate and international artists
  • What: a painting of a Tasmanian landscape. No photography, film or digital work without a painterly element, and no AI.
  • Prize: $80,000 and a bronze maquette (acquisitive), plus People's Choice $3,000 and smaller awards
  • Entry fee: $40
  • Entries close: 6pm AEDT, Friday 22 January 2027
  • Finalists: 5 February 2027. Winner announced: 5 March 2027.
Ink painting of tall Tasmanian mountain ash trees on pale mulberry paper, with scattered burn marks from joss sticks and red seal stamps.
Datsun Tran, winner of the 2026 Glover Prize. Ink and joss sticks on mulberry paper. Image courtesy the Glover Prize

Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), Darwin

The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory has run the Telstra NATSIAA for more than 40 years. It's free to enter.

  • Who can enter: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander artists, as individuals or collectives. Up to two entries: one individual and one collaborative.
  • What: work made in the 12 months before entries close, not shown or entered anywhere else. Categories: General Painting, Bark Painting, Work on Paper, Multimedia, the Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award, and Emerging Artist (first five years of practice).
  • Prize: $100,000 Telstra Art Award, plus $15,000 for each of the six category awards
  • Entry fee: free
  • Entries close: midnight ACST, 22 February 2027
  • Winners announced: 6 August 2027. Exhibition opens 26 June 2027.
Installation view of the 2025 Telstra NATSIAA exhibition in a dark gallery, showing a large etched metal work, wall paintings, a bright orange and purple painting and a turtle sculpture on a plinth.
The 2025 Telstra NATSIAA exhibition. Photo: Charlie Bliss. Image courtesy MAGNT

The Lester Prize Youth Awards, Perth

The Lester's Youth Awards are open to high school students across Australia until 9pm AWST, 3 March 2027. The main Lester Prize is listed under portrait prizes below.

Opening soon

Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize, Sydney

Ravenswood School for Girls runs a national prize for women artists, with professional, emerging and Indigenous emerging categories.

  • Who can enter: women artists aged 18 and over who have lived in Australia for the 12 months before entries close. Up to two entries in one category, and work must be for sale.
  • What: any medium, up to 2 x 2 metres and 20kg. Video up to 10 minutes.
  • Prize: Professional $35,000, Emerging $7,500 and Indigenous Emerging $7,500 (all acquisitive), plus People's Choice and six Highly Commended awards of $1,000
  • Entries open: Wednesday 4 November 2026. Close: 12pm AEDT, Wednesday 10 February 2027.
  • Exhibition: 15 to 30 May 2027
A waistcoat sculpted from layers of pale paperbark, decorated with small white flowers, hangs on a white gallery wall beside its label.
Jane Burton Taylor, Colonial Waistcoat, 2026 Emerging Artist winner. Image courtesy the Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize

SWELL Sculpture Festival, Currumbin, Gold Coast

SWELL puts sculpture on Currumbin Beach every September. You can apply with a finished work, a work in progress or a concept.

  • Who can enter: local, national and international artists
  • Prize: an awards pool of more than $37,000. In 2026 the top award was $15,000, with People's Choice $5,000 and Young Artist and Emerging Artist awards of $2,000 each.
  • Entries open: 1 December 2026. Close: midnight, 31 January 2027.
  • Festival: 9 to 19 September 2027
A giant rust-coloured crab sculpture perched on a rocky headland at Currumbin beach, with beachgoers below and the Surfers Paradise skyline across the water.
A sculpture on the rocks at Currumbin during SWELL. Image courtesy SWELL Sculpture Festival

Portrait prizes

Archibald Prize, Sydney

The Art Gallery of NSW's Archibald is the best-known art prize in Australia. The rule that catches people out: the portrait has to be painted from life, and the sitter has to know you and sit for you at least once in person.

  • Who can enter: artists who have lived in Australia or New Zealand for the 12 months before entries close. One entry each.
  • What: a painted portrait in any medium, with a signed statement from the sitter. Up to 90,000 square centimetres and 3 metres high.
  • Prize: $100,000, plus the $3,000 Packing Room Prize and $5,000 People's Choice. Every finalist gets a $1,000 fee.
  • Entry fee: $50
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries ran 2 February to 27 March 2026, finalists were named 30 April and the winner on 8 May.
Painted full-length portrait of Pitjantjatjara Elder Iluwanti Ken in a striped top and floral skirt against a flat yellow ochre background.
Richard Lewer, Iluwanti Ken, winner of the Archibald Prize 2026. Image courtesy the Art Gallery of NSW

Brisbane Portrait Prize, Brisbane

The Brisbane Portrait Prize is open to photography and digital work as well as painting, and self-portraits count.

  • Who can enter: artists aged 18 and over. Both artist and sitter need a Brisbane connection, and both must be Australian citizens or have lived in Australia for the past 12 months. The sitter must be alive.
  • What: an original 2D portrait made in the last three years, with at least one in-person sitting. Up to 2 x 2 metres and 15kg. No video.
  • Prize: $50,000 Lord Mayor's Prize (acquisitive), plus $10,000 for Digital and Photography and several $7,500 and $5,000 awards. Next Gen (18 and under) wins $2,000.
  • Entry fee: $65, or $25 for Next Gen
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries opened in January 2026 and closed 1 July, and the winners were named 18 September.
Installation view of the Brisbane Portrait Prize exhibition, with portraits on white walls, an orange text wall, a timber floor and a motion-blurred visitor.
The Brisbane Portrait Prize exhibition. Image courtesy Brisbane Portrait Prize

The Lester Prize, Perth

The Lester Prize, formerly the Black Swan Portrait Prize, is Western Australia's major portrait prize, with $140,000 across its awards in 2026.

  • Who can enter: Australian residents aged over 18, including citizens and permanent visa holders living interstate or overseas
  • What: a portrait of an Australian resident, in any 2D medium except photography and digital. Up to 2 x 2 metres and 30kg, finished in the 18 months before entries close.
  • Prize: $50,000, plus a $25,000 Artist Prize, $20,000 Spirit Prize, $15,000 People's Choice, $10,000 Installers' Prize and $10,000 Emerging Artist award
  • Entry fee: $40 early bird, then $50. Unlimited entries.
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries ran 14 January to 17 June 2026.
Oil portrait of a family in a garden: a mother and father stand behind a wheelbarrow holding two young children, against a blue sky and tropical plants.
Gene Hart-Smith, Family on Dangar Island, 2024, winner of the 2025 Installers' Prize. Image courtesy The Lester Prize

Portia Geach Memorial Award, Sydney

The S.H. Ervin Gallery's Portia Geach is a portrait prize for women artists.

  • Who can enter: women artists who are Australian citizens, or British-born and living in Australia, for the 12 months before entries close. The gallery says permanent residents aren't eligible.
  • What: a portrait painted from life of someone "distinguished in Art, Letters or the Sciences". Self-portraits are accepted. Paint only, no photography, sculpture or AI.
  • Prize: $30,000 (non-acquisitive), plus $1,000 People's Choice
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries opened in April 2026 and closed 14 August.
Painted self-portrait of a woman in a white T-shirt and jeans folding fabric on a green sofa in front of floral curtains.
Natasha Bieniek, The Folding (self-portrait), winner of the 2026 Portia Geach Memorial Award. Image courtesy S.H. Ervin Gallery

Painting and landscape prizes

Wynne Prize, Sydney

The Art Gallery of NSW's Wynne is for landscape painting or figure sculpture, and runs alongside the Archibald.

  • What: a landscape painting (oil, watercolour, acrylic or mixed media) or a figure sculpture. One work each.
  • Prize: $50,000, plus the $5,000 Trustees' Watercolour Prize. Every finalist gets a $1,000 fee.
  • Entry fee: $50
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round ran on the same dates as the Archibald, with entries closing 27 March 2026.
A large square work of etched steel panels with circular patterns and a central tree image, standing in a pale gallery space.
Gaypalani Waṉambi, The Waṉambi tree, winner of the Wynne Prize 2026. Image courtesy the Art Gallery of NSW

Sulman Prize, Sydney

The Art Gallery of NSW's Sulman is for a genre, subject or mural painting.

  • Who can enter: artists who have lived in Australia for five years, including citizens, permanent residents and humanitarian or protection visa holders. Work made in the two years before entries close.
  • Prize: $40,000. Every finalist gets a $1,000 fee.
  • Entry fee: $50
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round ran on the same dates as the Archibald.
Oil painting of a brindle greyhound lying on a floral upholstered armchair, with a dry grassland painting behind it.
Lucy Culliton, Toolah, artist model, winner of the Sir John Sulman Prize 2026. Image courtesy the Art Gallery of NSW

Hadley's Art Prize, Hobart

Hadley's Orient Hotel's prize is one of the richest landscape prizes in Australia.

  • Who can enter: Australian citizens, including those living overseas
  • What: the Australian landscape, including seas and skies, in any wall-mounted medium. Up to 160 x 160cm and 16kg. No unmanipulated photography or film.
  • Prize: $100,000 (acquisitive), plus a residency prize of a month's apartment and studio in Hobart
  • Entry fee: $50
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries closed 27 March 2026 and the winner was named 31 July.
Dotted painting in deep red and pink tones of stacked wrecked cars, with the word SACRED painted vertically down the left side.
Robert Fielding, Landscape, winner of the 2026 Hadley's Art Prize. Image courtesy Hadley's Art Prize

Mosman Art Prize, Sydney

The Mosman Art Prize has run since 1947, and it's one of the oldest in the country.

  • Who can enter: permanent Australian residents aged 16 and over. Up to two works.
  • What: painting, any subject. Up to 2 square metres and 40kg.
  • Prize: $70,000 (acquisitive), plus the $10,000 Margaret Olley Commendation, $5,000 Allan Gamble Award and $3,000 Guy Warren Emerging Artist award
  • Entry fee: $50
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries closed 13 July 2026 and the winner was named 20 August.
Installation view of the Mosman Art Prize exhibition, with colourful paintings hung on white walls above a polished timber floor.
The Mosman Art Prize exhibition, 2026. Image courtesy Mosman Art Gallery

Paddington Art Prize, Sydney

The Paddington Art Prize is for paintings inspired by the Australian landscape.

  • Who can enter: Australian citizens, or permanent residents of at least 12 months, aged over 18
  • What: a painting made in the last 12 months, up to 160 x 160cm. No AI or 3D printing.
  • Prize: $30,000 (acquisitive), plus a $2,500 First Nations Award and other smaller prizes
  • Entry fee: $55 for one work, $90 for two
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries ran 10 March to 2 August 2026.
Oil painting of a misty temperate rainforest with ferns and moss-covered branches, and an owl perched on a limb.
Jason Roberts, Upper Birrarung, 2026, a Paddington Art Prize finalist. Image courtesy the Paddington Art Prize

Muswellbrook Art Prize, Muswellbrook, NSW

The Muswellbrook Art Prize has run since 1958 and has a ceramics section, which is rare.

  • Who can enter: artists aged 16 and over who have lived in Australia for at least six months. No limit on entries, and work must be for sale.
  • Prize: $50,000 for Painting, $10,000 for Works on Paper and $10,000 for Ceramics (all acquisitive)
  • Entry fee: $45 per painting, $25 per work on paper or ceramic
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries ran 3 November 2025 to 6 February 2026.
Margaret Loy Pula's painting Anatye, Bush Potato, fine yellow lines on a dark ground forming radiating, overlapping curved segments.
Margaret Loy Pula, Anatye, Bush Potato, 2012, winner of the 2013 Muswellbrook Art Prize for painting. Muswellbrook Shire Art Collection. Image courtesy Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre

Fisher's Ghost Art Award, Campbelltown, NSW

Campbelltown Arts Centre's award has been running for more than 60 years, and it accepts 2D and 3D work.

  • Who can enter: anyone, with work made in the last two years. Up to two works in different categories, and finalists' work must be for sale.
  • Prize: $50,000 Open (acquisitive), plus Contemporary, Traditional, disability, Aboriginal and local awards
  • Entry fee: $50 plus a booking fee per work
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries ran 1 June to 27 July 2026.
Installation view of the 2026 Fisher's Ghost Art Award finalist exhibition, with paintings hung salon style and sculptures on plinths and the floor.
The 2026 Fisher's Ghost Art Award finalist exhibition. Photo: Silversalt Photography. Image courtesy Campbelltown Arts Centre

Calleen Art Award, Cowra, NSW

Cowra Regional Art Gallery's Calleen has run since 1977.

  • Who can enter: artists anywhere in Australia
  • What: painting, any subject, made in the 18 months before entry
  • Prize: $30,000 (acquisitive), plus $1,000 People's Choice
  • Entry fee: $40 for one work, $80 for two, $120 for three
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries closed 19 July 2026.
Amanda Penrose Hart's painting Shepherd's Lookout, a wide view over rolling hills and a valley under a pale, cloudy sky.
Amanda Penrose Hart, Shepherd's Lookout, 2023, winner of the 2024 Calleen Art Award. Image courtesy Cowra Regional Art Gallery

Hornsby Art Prize, Sydney

Hornsby Shire Council's prize covers painting, drawing, printmaking, photography and sculpture.

  • Who can enter: permanent Australian residents aged 18 and over. Up to two entries.
  • Prize: $10,000 major prize, $5,000 for a local artist, and $1,500 for each category (non-acquisitive)
  • Entry fee: $40 per entry
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries ran 15 June to 20 August 2026.
Roslyn Kean's woodblock print Trapped Beneath the Surface, with a blue botanical panel beside a column of black interlocking fret pattern.
Roslyn Kean, Trapped Beneath the Surface, 2025, winner of the 2025 Local Artist Award. Image courtesy Hornsby Shire Council

Emerging artists

The churchie emerging art prize, Brisbane

The churchie has backed emerging Australian artists since 1987.

  • Who can enter: emerging artists aged 18 and over who are Australian citizens or permanent residents. All media.
  • Prize: $40,000, plus $5,000 People's Choice
  • Entry fee: $50
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries ran 1 April to 24 May 2026.
Still from Josie Alexandra's Compass in Hand, a figure lying on a table on a checkered floor attended by three robed figures.
Josie Alexandra, winner of the 2024 churchie emerging art prize. Image courtesy the churchie emerging art prize

Hatched: National Graduate Show, Perth

PICA's Hatched is for art school graduates, with $50,000 in awards and two residencies. You can't enter yourself: your lecturers nominate you.

Installation view of Hatched: National Graduate Show 2024 at PICA, with a large video projection, sculptures on plinths and a timber floor.
Hatched: National Graduate Show 2024, installation view, PICA. Photo: Dan McCabe. Image courtesy PICA

Works on paper and print

Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award, Sydney

Hazelhurst Arts Centre's award is for work made with, on or about paper, in any discipline.

  • Prize (2025): $15,000, plus $5,000 Young and Early Career, $5,000 Local Artist, $1,000 People's Choice and a four-week residency award
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet.

Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award, Fremantle

The Fremantle Arts Centre's Print Award is one of the longest-running print prizes in Australia, and accepts any printing process.

  • Who can enter: artists aged 16 and over who live and work in Australia. One work.
  • Prize: $20,000 (acquisitive), plus a $5,000 First Nations Print Prize and $5,000 Young Emerging Print Prize (ages 16 to 25)
  • Entry fee: $50
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries closed 2 June 2025.

The Burnie Print Prize is listed under "Open now" above.

Installation view of the 47th Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award exhibition, with framed prints beside the exhibition title wall.
The 47th WFAC Print Award exhibition, 2025. Photo: Ezra Alcantra Photography. Image courtesy Walyalup Fremantle Arts Centre

Sculpture

Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, Sydney

Sculpture by the Sea lines the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk with sculpture every year.

  • Prize: the $70,000 Aqualand Sculpture Award, plus Helen Lempriere Scholarships ($90,000 across three artists in 2026)
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. The 2026 show runs until 2 November 2026. The Cottesloe show in Perth (5 to 22 March 2027) has already closed for entries.
James Rogers' steel sculpture Siren's Song, a tall open form of curved ribbons, standing on grass on the Bondi coastal walk under a cloudy sky.
James Rogers, Siren's Song, winner of the 2025 Aqualand Sculpture Award, Bondi. Image courtesy Sculpture by the Sea

Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Sydney

Woollahra Gallery has run this prize for small sculpture since 2001.

  • What: sculpture up to 80cm in any dimension
  • Prize: $25,000 (acquisitive), plus three smaller awards
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Entries for the 2026 prize closed in July.
Artist Mark Booth stands beside his winning sculpture Nascent State (hot pink), a cluster of pink faceted modules on a white plinth.
Mark Booth with Nascent State: (hot pink), winner of the 2026 prize. Photo: Leif Prenzlau. Image courtesy Woollahra Gallery

Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, Melbourne

Deakin University Art Gallery in Burwood runs Victoria's main small sculpture prize.

  • What: sculpture up to 70cm, open to artists across Australia
  • Prize (2026): $15,000 (acquisitive), plus a $5,000 Emerging Sculptors Award
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet.

SWELL is listed under "Opening soon" above.

Photography

Bowness Photography Prize, Melbourne

The Museum of Australian Photography in Wheelers Hill runs Australia's best-known photography prize.

  • Who can enter: Australian citizens, or artists who have lived in Australia for at least 12 months. Still photo-based work, analogue or digital. Up to three works per entry.
  • Prize: $50,000, plus a $10,000 commissioning award for a finalist
  • Entry fee: $55
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries ran 16 April to 14 June 2026.
Tamara Dean's photograph Metamorphosis, a figure underwater draped in flowing golden fabric against a black background.
Tamara Dean, Metamorphosis, 2025, winner of the 2026 Bowness Photography Prize. Courtesy the artist and Michael Reid Galleries. Image courtesy MAPh

Australian Life photography competition, Sydney

The City of Sydney's competition is free and open to amateurs. Phone photos count.

  • Who can enter: Australian citizens and permanent residents aged 13 and over. Camera or phone only, no AI.
  • Prize: $10,000, and every one of the 20 finalists gets $500
  • Entry fee: free
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. Last round, entries closed 17 May 2026.
Natalie Grono's photograph Summer Between Us, a close crop of three young people with wet hair looking at the camera.
Natalie Grono, Summer Between Us, grand prize winner 2026. Photo: Natalie Grono. Image courtesy the City of Sydney

Olive Cotton Award, Murwillumbah, NSW

The Tweed Regional Gallery's Olive Cotton Award is for photographic portraiture. It runs every two years, so 2027 is expected.

  • 2027 dates: not announced yet. In 2025, entries ran 25 February to 13 May.

The National Portrait Gallery's National Photographic Portrait Prize ended in 2026. The gallery says a new photography prize launches in 2027.

Tace Stevens' portrait Uncle Bill, an older Aboriginal man in a dark cap and jacket against a dark background.
Tace Stevens, Uncle Bill, 2023, winner of the 2025 Olive Cotton Award (detail). © the artist. Image courtesy Tweed Regional Gallery

Craft, jewellery and textiles

Contemporary Wearables, Toowoomba

Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery's jewellery award has run every two years since 1989, so 2027 is expected.

  • Prize (2025): $6,000 Excellence and $4,000 Innovation (both acquisitive), plus $2,000 for a student
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet

Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award, Wangaratta, Victoria

Wangaratta Art Gallery calls this Australia's richest textile prize. It runs every two years, so 2027 is expected.

  • Prize (2025): $40,000 (acquisitive)
  • 2027 dates: not announced yet
Installation view of Jemima Wyman's Haze 19, a large printed chiffon curtain of multicoloured smoke clouds, with other textile works nearby.
Jemima Wyman, Haze 19, winner of the 2025 Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award. Image courtesy Wangaratta Art Gallery

Glass

There's no major open glass prize in 2027. JamFactory's FUSE Glass Prize ($20,000 in 2026, for glass artists in Australia and New Zealand) alternates with a residency: 2027 is the FUSE Glass Artist Residency, and the next prize is in 2028.

Annette Blair's glass work Remnants of time, In idleness: two stacked black and pink vessels with rusted, crumbling enamel surfaces.
Annette Blair, Remnants of time, In idleness, winner of the 2026 FUSE Glass Prize. Image courtesy the FUSE Glass Prize

Not running in 2027

Some prizes run every two years, and a few are on hold:

  • Every two years, next in 2028: the Alice Prize (Alice Springs), the Blake Prize (Sydney), the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize (Adelaide), the Clunes Ceramic Award (Victoria), the North Queensland Ceramic Awards (Townsville) and the Banyule Award for Works on Paper (Melbourne).
  • On hold: the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize and the Paul Guest Drawing Prize, while Bendigo Art Gallery is redeveloped.
  • No dates planned: the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. Its website says there are no future dates planned.

Before you enter

Prizes change their rules, fees and dates every year, so treat this guide as a planner and check the prize's own page before you pay an entry fee. We'll add 2027 dates here as they're announced.

Want to see what a finalist's year looks like? Read 9 Melbourne artists to watch, which follows artists through the Archibald, the Ramsay and the Geelong Contemporary. Or read why Daniel Butterworth paints on cardboard: he's been shortlisted for the Archibald, the Doug Moran and the Blake.

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