Awards, Prizes and Opportunities – listed by closing date.

16 Apr 2025 – Bowral Sculpure Prize There is a limit of 2 pieces per artist, which must be the original work of the artist andnot previously displayed with this society. All works must be for sale.

26 Apr 2025 – Creative Arts Fellowship
Supports practising writers to develop new creative work using or inspired by the National Library’s collections.

27 Apr 2025 – ABC and AIDC – Indigenous Documentary Placement Program This program aims to provide one mid-career Indigenous practitioner with a unique opportunity to undertake an extended placement with the ABC, Australia’s largest public broadcaster.

30 Apr 2025 – The Homiens Art Prize is an international art prize open to all artists and art forms. We celebrate our chosen artists across our media, exhibiting their art online where it is viewed by artists and collectors in the United States and throughout the world. 

30 Apr 2025  Come along to our free five-part online series starting in 2 weeks, offering practical insights and expert guidance for regional NSW artists. Learn from industry pros on topics like reimagining touring, self-management, and building your brand with marketing and PR strategies. Get info and tools to grow your music career—no matter where you’re based.
30 April | Artist Tools for Breaking Through – Part A: Boost Your Brand
7 May | Artist Tools for Breaking Through – Part B: Tour Marketing Glow Up
14 May | Artist Tools for Breaking Through – Part C: Amp Your PR

1 May 2025 – Remagine Art Prize  is an environmental art prize dedicated to bringing awareness of environmental challenges such as waste and consumption. This years theme – Rethink to Repurpose refers to the decisions we make each day about how much waste we create, and how we can reuse materials to help save our precious natural resources. 

May- Jun Download: Online Digital Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) Online Workshop Series  – Download: Online is a series of Zoom workshops for First Nations artists and arts workers at all career stages, who are engaging or wish to engage with digital practice and learn more about ICIP. This is a program developed in partnership with Arts Law Centre of Australia to provide practical advice on how to manage and protect ICIP when working digitally. Four online workshops will be held across May and early June. Workshops will be 2 hours in duration and will be grouped by art form area to provide tailored advice to attendees around IP and ICIP considerations and protections. First Nations artists and arts workers are welcome to register for one or more workshops depending on art form area practice and interest.

5 May 2025 – 2025 MAKE Award, Biennial Prize for Innovation in Australian Craft and Design, a national award for Australian designer/makers working across all related disciplines including ceramics, glass, furniture/woodwork, metalwork, textiles and fibre, and contemporary jewellery.

5 May 2025 – Varuna Residential Fellowships– offer two to three weeks of full board and accommodation at Varuna, in the beautiful surrounds of the Blue Mountains. 

5 May 2025 – The Far South Film Festival,based in southeast NSW, invites their fellow filmmakers from rural, regional and remote areas of Australia to submit both shorts and feature films that reflect the people, environment and issues that matter to you. This is the only film festival in Australia that exclusively showcases selected films made from a regional perspective.

5 May 2025 – National Library of Australia – Fellowship for Australian Writing This is an opportunity for creative writers working in any literary genre to use the Library’s unique, rare or comprehensive collections and be supported to progress a new creative work. This may include writing for performance, poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction (non-fiction which is sufficiently innovative, writerly or reflective), personal essays or graphic novels.

9 May 2025 – Naked & Nude Art Prize 2025The Art Prize is a partnership between Friends of the Manning Regional Art Gallery and the Manning Regional Art Gallery. After 33 years, the Naked & Nude Art Prize has become a prestigious national event on the Australian Arts Calendar and is open to Australian and international artists in a variety of media.

11 May 2025 – The Waverley Art Prize is open to painting, drawing, print and mixed media. This year’s Judges are Anne Ryan, Curator Australian Art, AGNSW, and Jasper Knight, artist.

11 May 2025 – Sunshine Coast National Art Prize Open to Australian contemporary artists working in any 2D medium and in new media, the award offers a prize pool of more than $35,000.

13 May 2025 – Olive Cotton Award is a $20,000 biennial national award for excellence in photographic portraiture in memory of photographer Olive Cotton. In 2025 the Gallery will celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the award.

15 May 2025 – Music Access and Inclusion Masterclass  for Industry (e.g. venues, festivals and other music businesses)If you are an artist or industry worker with disability or who wants to improve accessibility and inclusion in the music industry, don’t miss these free online masterclasses by Accessible Arts in partnership with MusicNSW

28 May 2025 – Waterbrook Drawing Prize 2025 1st Prize $5000, 2nd Prize $1000, People’s Choice $250 Entry form & Fee to be received by 4pm on Wednesday 28 May, if you need help with the application  phone 4861 4093.

31 May 2025-  QPRC 2025 Art Awards has a  total prize pool of $25,000, this annual event has become a significant regional art award.

1 Jun 2025 –  CinefestOZ Australian Feature Film Competition and PrizeThis competition aims to offer an exciting opportunity for Australian filmmakers to showcase their shorts and offer further diversity to the festival audience.

2 Jun 2025 – The Farm Margaret River 2026 Funded Residency program A leading Arts Residency program in Western Australia, offering a unique opportunity for artists to develop work that engages thoughtfully with the land.

19 Jun 2025 – The Lester Prize is one of the country’s premier art prizes—an award that places artists and community proudly front-and-centre. Our prize is about the advancement of the artists, not the celebrity of the sitters.

23 Jun 2025 – Frank Moorhouse Fellowship for Young Writers
Supports a writer aged 18-35 years to develop and write a new work of fiction.

29 Jun 2025 – The Young Paddo Art Prize. a new concurrent annual national exhibit of 20 young national finalaists whose A4 paintings on paper draw from the Australian Landscape and environment.

30 Jun 2025 – Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award promotes excellence and innovation in the field of art on paper while supporting and encouraging artists who specialise in this medium. With a total prize pool of $26,000, the Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award recognises outstanding artworks created with, on, or about paper. Artforms can include, but are not limited to painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, mixed media and video.

30 Jun 2025 – Australian Screen Production Incentive – Location Offset This program aims aims to provide an incentive for large budget screen productions to film in Australia. It forms part of the Australian Screen Production Incentive that supports film, television and other screen production by providing rebates and incentive

9 Jul 2025 – Strathnairn Arts Small Sculpture Prize This new award seeks to celebrate and highlight the creativity and innovation found in small-scale sculptural works by artists from across Australia.

10 Aug 2025 – P𝖺𝖽𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗍𝗈𝗇 𝖠𝗋𝗍 𝖯𝗋𝗂𝗓𝖾 A $30,000 National Acquisitive Prize, now in its 22nd year for a painting inspired by the Australian Landscape

18 Aug 2025 – Fellowship for Non-Fiction Writing
Supports an Australian author to create a significant new work of literary non-fiction.

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  now has limited availability in our 2025 exhibition calendar. However we have one gallery space available in July and October