Awards, Prizes and Opportunities – listed by closing date.

14 Jan 2026 – Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing The Perry Prize is a $25 000 acquisitive award recognising excellence in contemporary drawing.

16 Jan 2026 – Orange Regional Museum’s new Creative Collections opportunity –  artists working in any art form can submit an expression of interest to develop a creative response to an object from Orange Regional Museum’s collection.

30 Jan 2026 – Water through Reeds Gallery – EOI now open for 2026 Exhibition Applications. 

31 Jan 2026 – SWELL Sculpture Festival  – Artists are invited to apply to exhibit in the 24th annual SWELL Sculpture Festival which will transform Currumbin Beach into a stunning outdoor gallery for 10 days in September.

1 Feb 2026 – The Prudence MacLeod Prize – A six-month studio residency program in London for a recent National Art School graduate.

1 Feb 2026 – Napier Waller Art Prize The Napier Waller Art Prize is open to all current and former service personnel in the Australian Defence Force. The prize encourages artistic excellence, promotes the transformative power of creativity, and raises awareness of the experiences and talent of service personnel.

2 Feb 2026 – Muswellbrook Art PrizeSince 1958, the Muswellbrook Art Prize has grown and evolved and is today one of the richest prizes for painting in regional Australia. Finalists for the Muswellbrook Art Prize vie for a total of $70,000 prize money across three prize categories: Painting ($50,000 acquisitive), Works on Paper ($10,000 acquisitive), and Ceramics ($10,000 acquisitive).

3 Feb 2026 – Prime Minister’s Literary Awards
The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards is the richest literary prize in the nation, with six categories: fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, children’s literature, poetry and Australian history.

3 Feb 2026 – The Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships  – Support for talented young artists to explore, study and develop their artistic gifts through interstate and international travel.

3 Feb 2026 – The Lady Mollie Isabelle Askin Ballet Scholarship – Travelling scholarship to support the professional development of young people under 30 with outstanding ability and promise in ballet.

3 Feb 2026 – Sir Robert William Askin Operatic Scholarship – Travelling scholarship to support the professional development of a man or male under 30 with outstanding ability and promise in opera singing.

14 Feb 2026 – Harden Art Prize –  is an acquisitive landscape painting prize. Cityscapes and seascapes are acceptable within the broad definition of landscape.

11 Feb 2026 – Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize  is the highest-value art prize for women in Australia with $58,000 in prize money available across Professional Artist, Emerging Artist and Indigenous Emerging Artist categories

27 Feb 2026 – Sydney Film Festival Competition This festival aims to develop and deliver a sustainable world class film festival, which engages all stakeholders and achieves critical acclaim by presenting a unique program that inspires, challenges, and entertains an increasingly broad and diverse audience.The 73rd Sydney Film Festival takes place 3 to 14 June 2026.

3 Mar 2026 – St Columba’s Art Prize Showcasing the diverse creative voices from the Blue Mountains and across Australia, the St Columba’s Art Prize is accepting entries from established and emerging artists across a wide range of artistic practises.

21 Feb 2025 – The Bayside Painting Prize – The Bayside Painting Prize is Melbourne’s premier annual painting prize. The finalist exhibition brings together a broad range of artists from across Australia, both established and lesser known, whose varied approaches to the painted medium conveys the breadth and diversity of painting in Australia today.

open – Incentives for live music and performance venues – This program aims to encourage more live music, performance and other arts and cultural events and employment opportunities for musicians and performers.

open – Rusten House Galleries  Exhibition space is avalible for Artists to propose exhibitions in Queanbeyan

open  – QPRC Cultural Grants are open for the 2025-26 financial year The Cultural Grants Program aims to assist local arts, artists, musicians, performers, writers and arts/cultural groups to start and develop their own projects, and to improve the community’s opportunities for involvement in cultural and arts activities. Applications are open throughout the year, or until funds have been exhausted.