The Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship 2026, administered by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, is now accepting applications from emerging Australian artists aged 20 to 30 with an established body of work. Established in memory of Brett Whiteley, the scholarship supports excellence in painting while providing significant career…

Our Space Brisbane is inviting emerging and established artists to submit work for Common Ground, a three-day exhibition celebrating the studio’s fourth birthday. Open to artists working across ceramics, 2D and 3D media, the exhibition explores themes of community, belonging and shared experience. Selected works will be exhibited alongside a…

Entries are now open for the Audrey Gibbs Art Prize 2026, presented by the Royal Queensland Art Society (RQAS). The annual prize celebrates genre painting and drawing, honouring the legacy of artist Audrey Gibbs, whose work focused on the beauty of everyday life. Artists are invited to submit works depicting…

Entries are now open for the UniSQ Biennial Art Award 2026, a national acquisitive art prize celebrating outstanding contemporary Australian art. Launched in 2024, the biennial award has quickly established itself as an exciting addition to Australia’s arts landscape, attracting artists from across the country. With a total prize pool…

Entries are now open for the Portia Geach Memorial Award 2026, Australia’s most prestigious portrait prize for women artists. Presented annually by the S.H. Ervin Gallery, the $30,000 non-acquisitive award recognises the best portrait painted from life by a woman artist depicting a person distinguished in the fields of art,…

Entries are now open for the Urunga Small Sculpture Prize 2026, a national sculpture award presented by Art Space Urunga. Established in 2018, the prize celebrates original small-scale sculpture and offers $10,000 in prize money. Artists are invited to submit original freestanding or wall-mounted sculptures in any medium. Selected finalists…

Entries are now open for the Calleen Art Award 2026, one of Australia’s longest-running acquisitive painting prizes. Established in 1977, the annual award celebrates originality, creativity and excellence in contemporary Australian painting across any style, theme or subject. Open to artists from across Australia, the winning artwork will receive the…

QUT Art Museum is inviting applications for LOOKOUT, an exhibition program showcasing the research and creative practice of QUT students. Open to projects across visual art, design, research and interdisciplinary practice, LOOKOUT offers selected participants the opportunity to exhibit in the Museum’s prominent window gallery at Gardens Point campus. Visible…

The Korean Cultural Centre Australia (KCCAU) is inviting applications for its 2026–27 Exhibition Program, supporting contemporary visual arts projects that foster cultural exchange between Australia and Korea. Selected exhibitions will be presented at the Korean Cultural Centre Australia in Sydney between December 2026 and February 2027. Applications are welcomed from…

Entries are now open for the 2026 Mosman Art Prize, Australia’s premier open painting prize and one of the nation’s longest-running acquisitive art awards. Established in 1947, the Mosman Art Prize celebrates excellence in contemporary Australian painting, supporting artists whose work reflects the ideas, identities and stories of contemporary life.…

Entries are now open for the Clunes Ceramic Award 2026, a prestigious biennial national award celebrating excellence and innovation in contemporary ceramics. First held in 2009, the award has become a significant platform for ceramic artists across Australia, recognising outstanding creative practice while fostering connections between artists, audiences and the…

Entries are now open for the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2026, one of the world’s leading international awards celebrating excellence in representational visual arts. Now in its ninth year, the non-acquisitive prize welcomes artists from around the globe working across traditional, digital and photographic media. Eligible styles include realism, imaginative…

Entries are now open for the Evelyn Chapman Art Award 2026, a prestigious biennial award supporting the professional development of emerging Australian painters. Presented by the S.H. Ervin Gallery, the award provides $60,000 to assist an Australian painter working in oil or tempera to undertake further study over a two-year…

Prisma Art Prize has opened submissions for its 20th edition, inviting painters, illustrators, printmakers and traditional 2D artists from around the world to apply. Based in Rome, the international award celebrates contemporary painting and two-dimensional practice, welcoming a broad range of approaches from figurative and abstract works to experimental image-making.…

Entries are now open for the 2026 Banyule Award for Works on Paper, a prestigious national acquisitive art prize presented by Banyule City Council. Awarded biennially, the prize celebrates outstanding contemporary works on paper and offers artists the opportunity to exhibit alongside original Heidelberg School paintings on long-term loan from…

The Victorian Trades Hall Council is inviting artists from across Australia to enter the Trades Hall Art Prize 2026, a national exhibition exploring the legacy of one of the world’s oldest continuously operating trade union buildings. This year’s theme, A Living Monument, encourages artists to respond to Victorian Trades Hall…

Applications are now open for Sculpture in the Garden Wollongong 2027, one of regional Australia’s leading outdoor sculpture exhibitions. Presented by Wollongong City Council, the biennial exhibition transforms the Wollongong Botanic Garden into a large-scale outdoor gallery, showcasing sculpture and environmental installations by artists from across Australia. The 2025 exhibition…

Entries are now open for the 2026 Basil Sellers Art Prize, a major national acquisitive art prize presented by The Bas in Moruya, NSW. Celebrating excellence in traditional 2D practice, the biennial prize welcomes artists from across Australia working in painting, drawing and unique-state printmaking. The 2026 prize pool exceeds…

Entries are now open for the Southern Ocean Art Prize 2026, inviting artists from across Australia to submit work in any medium for this non-acquisitive national art prize. The open award celebrates contemporary artistic practice across a wide range of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, works on paper, textiles, digital art…

Applications are now open for the BigCi Environmental Awards 2026, inviting Australian and international artists working across visual art, installation, multimedia, performance, literature, music, photography, filmmaking and curatorial practice to respond to the environment through creative research and practice. Two award recipients will each receive: A$5,000 prize Four-week residency at…

Entries are now open for the Burnie Print Prize 2027, one of Australia’s leading national printmaking awards, celebrating excellence, innovation and technical skill in contemporary print practice. Presented by Burnie Arts, the acquisitive prize welcomes emerging and established artists from across Australia working in traditional and expanded printmaking practices. Finalists…

Entries are now open for the Bindi Digital Art Prize 2026, a national art prize celebrating digital and moving image practice by artists of all abilities across Australia. Presented by Bindi Enterprises, the non-acquisitive prize encourages artists to explore and celebrate digital media in all its forms, supporting creative and…

Entries are now open for the 2026 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, one of Australia’s longest-running and most prestigious regional art awards, presented by Campbelltown Arts Centre. Now in its 64th year, the award offers more than $60,000 in prize money, including the $50,000 acquisitive Open Award, with the winning work…

Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio welcomes applications for its ongoing artist residency program, offering self-funded residencies of up to three months in one of Japan’s leading public art centres. Located within Tenjinyama Park in Sapporo, the residency provides studio apartments, shared creative facilities and opportunities to engage with the local community…

Applications are open for the Metropolitan Fukujusou Artist Residency, a Kyoto-based international residency offering artists the opportunity to live and work within a 200-year-old traditional Kyo-Machiya townhouse. Designed for artists interested in Japanese culture, minimalism and slow living, the residency encourages participants to embrace a simple way of life while…

Art Center Ongoing is inviting applications for its Ongoing AIR residency program, a two-month international residency based in Kichijoji, Tokyo. Open to artists and curators from Japan and overseas, the residency provides private accommodation, an exhibition opportunity and access to Art Center Ongoing’s gallery, library and creative community. Established in…

The Drawing Festival returns to Queensland Art Gallery for a weekend of creativity, exploration and fun, featuring more than 50 free events across two days. Expanded in 2026 due to popular demand, the festival invites visitors of all ages and skill levels to discover or rekindle a love of drawing.…

Applications are open for the 2025/2026 trenarren HOUSE Residency Season, inviting artists from all creative disciplines to immerse themselves in a unique rural residency centred on the theme Community. Located on the coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom, trenarren HOUSE is a multidisciplinary artist-run residency where creativity and wellbeing intersect. Artists…

Applications are open for the L’AiR Arts International Arts Research Residency, offering artists and cultural practitioners the opportunity to live and work in the historic Atelier 11 Cité Falguière in Montparnasse, Paris. Situated within one of Paris’ most significant historic artist communities, the residency continues the legacy of the École…

The Mudhouse Residency invites visual artists, writers, musicians and performers to undertake a two-week creative residency on the island of Crete, Greece, surrounded by the historic mountain village of Agios Ioannis. Now entering its eleventh year, the artist-run residency offers three sessions across Summer 2026: 8–22 June 2026 29 June–13…

The Venuvana Artist Residency, presented by ABARI, invites artists, architects, writers and interdisciplinary practitioners to immerse themselves in the landscapes of Nepal through nature-based creative research and making. Hosted on an organic farm in Chitwan and Dhulikhel, the residency offers dedicated time to develop new work within a bamboo forest…

Join a welcoming weekly life drawing and painting session at Vacant Assembly, open to all skill levels and all mediums. Bring your own materials—charcoal, oils, acrylics, pencils—and settle into a relaxed evening of observational practice with a live model. Choose from standing easels or seated spots (first in, best dressed),…

Entries are now open for the John Leslie Art Prize 2026, one of Australia’s most established landscape painting awards. First presented in 2000 and named after John Leslie OBE, the prize celebrates excellence in contemporary landscape painting by artists living and working in Australia. The 2026 edition marks the 14th…

Black Door Gallery invites painters to apply for the E.SUN International Art Prize, a global painting award established by E.SUN Bank in Taiwan, offering a total prize pool of approximately USD $130,000. This international prize celebrates contemporary painting across diverse styles and approaches, encouraging artists to engage with one or…

The Redland Art Awards is a biennial contemporary painting competition open to Australian citizens and permanent residents aged 18 and over. The award celebrates innovation and excellence in painting, with selected finalists exhibited at Redland Art Gallery later in the year. Prizes include: Major Acquisitive Prize: $20,000 Second Prize: $6,000…

The Paddington Art Prize introduces the inaugural Paddo Sculpture Prize, a national, non-acquisitive award offering $10,000 for a 3D free-standing sculpture inspired by the Australian landscape. Open to artists across Australia, the prize invites submissions that respond to landscape through sculptural form—encouraging diverse interpretations across material, scale, and concept. In…