This week sees new art prizes and opportunities for visual artists, including a host of commissions for two new Western Australian hospitals.
We’ve also found a professional development program for First Nations performers and collectives working in experimental theatre or dance, which concludes with a showing at Melbourne’s Yirramboi Festival.
Opportunities for creatives – quick links
Multi-artform
ATSI Arts Development Fund (QLD) – closes 22 June
Grant. Arts Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Development Fund supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, groups and organisations based in Queensland.
Grants of up to $70,000 are available for performing arts projects, and up to $30,000 for visual arts market development, which can include exhibiting internationally. Smaller grants are also available to support accessibility needs for artists and audiences with a disability.
The funding round earlier in the year saw $441,246 awarded across just eight projects. Applications for this coming funding round close 22 June.
Ian Potter Emerging Artist Grants – closes 23 June
Grant. The Ian Potter Cultural Trust’s Emerging Artist Grants are a good one to bookmark if you’re looking to spend some time on professional development, either in Australia or overseas.
Grants of up to $15,000 are available to support early career artists of all artforms, from visual arts to community radio, design and literature. The grants can be put towards attending residencies, workshops and conferences, but can also be used to organise mentorships and study tours. Postgrad study is not usually covered here, but may be considered in select cases if it’s for something where there are no local options.
Applications close 23 June.
Independent Artists and Groups Grant (SA) – closes 29 June
Grant. This grant is for independent South Australian artists and groups, and is designed to support the development, production and presentation of new works across all artforms.
Grants vary depending on the project but usually range from around the $5000 mark through to $50,000 for larger projects. This money can be used to cover nuts and bolts costs like creative talent and producer fees, marketing, photography, venue hire and freight, but it can also be used for travel and living expenses.
There are four funding rounds throughout the year. This coming round closes 29 June.
ANAT Locale Mentorships (SA) – closes 1 July
Professional development. The Australian Network for Art & Technology is all about helping artists learn about science and technology so that they can make experimental new work. ANAT’s Locale Mentorships are for emerging or early career South Australian artists, and provide the chance to be mentored by leading interdisciplinary practitioners from across Australia.
Artists can be working in any field, including the visual arts, film, writing, ecological art, virtual reality, performance, sound art and robotics. There are three mentorships on offer, and artists will be paired with up to four mentors depending on their field and interests.
Applications close 1 July and the mentorships will take place from September through to November.
Deane Miller Fellowship – closes 31 July
Fellowship. The State Library of South Australia has just launched a new fellowship, supporting the research and development of work inspired by the library’s collections. The Deane Miller Fellowship seeks original creative perspectives on South Australian stories, and the proposed work must have a public outcome. Beyond that, it’s a wide open brief!
Writers, researchers, artists, musicians, performers, designers and creatives of any kind are invited to apply. The fellowship provides $15,000 to support the creation of new work, plus in-kind support from library staff (including supported access to collections) and access to a workspace, where available.
While preference will be given to South Australian applicants, the fellowship is open to all Australian residents, though the ability to undertake research at the library and make the most of the fellowship is expected. The Deane Miller Fellowship is even open to those under 18 – they will just need to include a little extra information with their application.
Applications to the Deane Miller Fellowship close 31 July.
Visual arts
R & M McGivern Prize – closes 25 June
Prize. Open to all Australian painters working in oils or watercolours, the R & M McGivern Prize invites entries on the theme of ‘atmosphere’. This year, two awards of $25,000 will be made, and the winning artworks will become the property of the Maroondah City Council Art Collection.
Prize organisers offer the following prompt: ‘For artists, the influence of atmospheres, both physical and emotional, on visual perception is fundamental. In Australia and around the world we are experiencing powerful impacts of climate change and shifting social, cultural and political atmospheres. The R & M McGivern Prize and exhibition invites artists to respond to their notions of “atmosphere” – from the momentary to the monumental.’
Applications close 25 June.
Paris Art Fellowship – closes 30 June
International fellowship. Run by the University of Sydney’s Power Institute, the long-running Paris Art Fellowships have been expanded for 2027.
Artists can apply for the Curtis Artist Fellowships, which provide $13,000 in financial support and a three-month residency. Four of these will be offered next year, all hosted at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. The Cité is an artist residency that provides living and working spaces to as many as 300 artists at a time. It’s often a great introduction to the city as well as a chance make connections with international peers.
Researchers (including curators) can apply for the Virginia Spate Research Fellowship, which provides $20,000 to go towards a three-month research trip to Paris. Two are offered per year, with one earmarked for University of Sydney academics only. ‘This immersion in the international city of Paris … allowed me to de-Australianise my thinking, away from the highly national lens encouraged by university study and editors here,’ writes past fellow Lauren Carroll Harris.
One of Australia’s longest-standing international arts programs, these fellowships have supported more than 140 artists, writers and curators since the program began in 1967. The deadline for applications for the 2027 fellowships is 30 June.
NEW – WA Hospital Comission – closes 6 July
Commission. Artists are now being sought to make a range of artworks for the new Women and Babies Hospital and Osborne Park Hospital in Western Australia. The commissions are set to include sculptural works, integrated artworks, printed graphics, painting, digital works and photography.
Artists of all levels of ability and disciplines, including those from non-traditional public art disciplines, are encouraged to apply. While it’s open nationally, preference will be given to artists with a connection to Western Australia and the two hospital sites. Expressions of interest close 6 July.
Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture (VIC) – closes 6 July
Prize. In other years, the Melbourne Prize celebrates literature and music but in 2026, it’s all about urban sculpture. The prize is open to Victorian artists at all stages of their career, and the expansive definition of sculpture includes public installation, new media, performance, sound and socially engaged practice.
Artist Maree Clarke has been brought on board to be one of the judges, along with curators Max Delany and Sophie Oxenbridge. The main prize is worth $60,000, with the finalists each receiving $1000. Two short residencies in Falls Creek will also be awarded.
Individuals and groups can submit, and entries can put forward past, present or future work. Applications close 6 July.
Ross Steele AM Fellowship (NSW) – closes 10 July
Fellowship. Run by the State Library of New South Wales, the $12,000 Ross Steele AM Fellowship supports research drawing on the library’s pictorial collections. The library has been collecting pictorial material since the 1880s, and while that was mainly documentary to begin with, SLNSW now collects much more broadly.
This Ross Steele AM Fellowship is for investigations into key images or image collections, though applications focusing on non-photographic media will be preferred by the judges. Applications close 10 July.
Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize – closes 12 July
Prize. Just as the name suggests, the long-running Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize is open to works on the small side, no larger than 80cm in any dimension. Over the years, the respected prize has gone to both established artists and exciting up-and-coming talent, including Todd Robinson, Hannah Gartside, Sanné Mestrom and Tim Silver.
This year, Silver joins the prize as one of the three judges. The main prize, worth $25,000, will see the winning work joining the collection of Sydney’s Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf.
Applications close 12 July, with Woollahra Gallery’s exhibition of finalists running 2 October to 29 November.
NEW – Mosman Art Prize – closes 13 July
Prize. This long-running painting prize is worth $70,000. Run by Mosman Council in Sydney, it’s an open prize with no theme, and invariably captures a wide range of approaches.
This year’s winning painting will go into the Mosman Council Collection and sit alongside such artists as Cressida Campbell, Grace Cossington Smith, Lucy Culliton, Guan Wei, Adam Cullen, Nicholas Harding, Lloyd Rees, Jumaadi, Elisabeth Cummings, Michael Zavros and Margaret Olley – who was the inaugural winner in 1947.
Entries to the Mosman Art Prize are $50 and close 13 July. This year’s judge has yet to be announced.
Meroogal Women’s Art Prize (NSW) – closes 15 July
Prize. Run by Museums of History NSW, the biennial Meroogal Woman’s Art Prize has a prize pool of over $18,000. Women artists from across New South Wales are invited to submit artworks in any medium, which explore Meroogal’s house and garden, collection, history and significance within broader historical and contemporary contexts.
The prize is non-acquisitive, though selected artworks will be displayed on the property. Entries close 15 July.
NEW – UniSQ Biennial Art Prize – closes 20 July
Prize. In its inaugural year, the UniSQ Biennial Art Award attracted 645 entries from more than 300 artists. This year, its second, there is a $20,000 main prize and there will also be a $3000 Emerging Artist Award and a $1000 Peoples Choice Award. The award exhibition takes place at the UniSQ Art Gallery in Toowoomba in September.
Entries to the UniSQ Biennial Art Award close 20 July, with finalists selected and notified by 3 August.
NEW – Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship – closes 31 July
Residency. Every year, the Brett Whiteley Studio and Art Gallery of New South Wales award an annual travelling art scholarship to visual artists aged between 20 and 30.
This year, one artist will receive $50,000 and a three-month residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, and a further five recipients will each receive $10,000 and a two-week residency at Kangaroo Valley in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.
Finalists are also exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, a prestigious opportunity that has helped launch many careers including that of Mia Boe and Thea Anamara Perkins.
Applicants must have an established body of work behind them, and will need to submit images of 10 works with their application, at least five of which much be paintings. Applications close 31 July.
Performing arts
Young Composer Award – closes 22 June
Prize. Submissions are now open for the  2026 Young Composer Award, a national competition offering young Australian composers the rare opportunity to compose for and work directly with a professional symphony orchestra.
The winner also receives $5000. Applicants must be born in 1991 or later, and entries are open to 22 June.
On the Terrace Commission (SA) – closes 23 June
Commission. Chamber Music Adelaide is looking for a South Australian composer to create a new work celebrating the 10th anniversary of the On the Terrace festival. It’s a substantial commission for a work in three parts, with the heart being a 10-minute finale written for two chamber ensembles and an inclusive choir.
The selected musician will be able to choose between the $8500 Independent Pathway commission, where the composer works fairly independently with some feedback from performers and singers, and the $6000 Mentored Pathway, which includes a tailored mentorship with Chamber Music Adelaide.
The work will then be premiered at On The Terrace in November as part of the festival’s anniversary celebrations.
Composers will need to have a body of chamber music work behind them, and be comfortable with the development timeline. Expressions of interest close 23 June.
Free Review Writing Workshop (Darwin) – runs 2 July
Professional development. Learn to write about performance in this free, two-hour review writing workshop in Darwin on 2 July, led by Geoffrey Williams of Stage Whispers.
Williams will talk about how to observe performances with curiosity. He’ll explore theatre reviewing through structure, voice, analysis and ethics, helping participants develop the confidence to respond thoughtfully to live performance.
The workshop is part of Darwin Fringe. If you’d like to register, there’s no firm closing date but the earlier the better.
NEW – Yirramboi Cracked Development Program – closes 12 July
Professional development. This program’s for Victorian First Nations artists, collectives and arts organisations working in experimental theatre and dance. Cracked will provide the six selected artists with a $10,000 fee to help with the development of a new work, as well as mentorship from leading First Nations practitioners, rehearsal space, accessibility provisions, technical support and industry connections.
The six artists will present a 20-minute excerpt of their new experimental work at Melbourne’s Yirramboi Festival in 2027.
Yirramboi Festival has a strong commitment to d/Deaf, Disabled, neurodivergent and regional artists. EOIs can be submitted in writing or as a video or audio recording, and expressions of interest close 12 July.
Writing & publishing
Frank Moorhouse Fellowship for Young Writers – closes 22 June
Fellowship. Named in honour of the late Frank Moorhouse, this $10,000 Copyright Agency fellowship is for a young fiction writer aged between 18 and 35 years who has not yet published a full-length work of fiction.
Applicants must have previously published some short stories or work in literary magazines, journals or online. Writers who have published a full-length work, in fiction or any genre, are not eligible to apply.
The fellowship is essentially a living allowance to create a new work of fiction, though it may also be used for mentoring costs. Applications close 22 June.
Paragraph Fellowship – closes 3 July
Fellowship. The Paragraph Fellowship is an annual grant of $25,000 for an emerging or early career writer of literary fiction. Organisers say the fellowship is ‘not a prize for previous work, fame or connections’ but instead aims to support writers as they create their next work.
The Paragraph Fellowship is supported through Time to Write, a sub-fund of Australian Communities Foundation in partnership with Australian Cultural Fund. Writers must have professionally published between one and two works (self-published titles are not eligible) and must first be nominated by a member of the Paragraph Fellowship Nominations Committee. Applications close 3 July.
CYT Emerging Playwright Commission – closes 6 July
Professional development. Canberra Youth Theatre’s Emerging Playwright Commission sees an emerging Australian playwright commissioned to create a brand-new, full-length work that brings the stories and voices of young people to the stage.
The winner receives a full commission worth $17,700, plus ongoing dramaturgical support, development workshops in Canberra, and the experience of seeing their script come to life in a staged reading.
The initiative is designed to help launch the careers of talented writers who are ready to take the next step – those who are underway on their playwriting journey, perhaps with a production or two under their belt, but haven’t yet been professionally produced by a major theatre company.
Proposals must be for new works that are at least 60 minutes in length and written to be performed by actors aged anywhere between 7 and 25. Applications close 6 July.
Imago Fellowship (NSW) – closes 10 July
Fellowship. The $50,000 Imago Fellowship is for emerging writers working with the collections of the State Library of New South Wales. It’s a relatively new one, established in 2024, and it’s open to writers who have either yet to publish a full-length work, or who have published a debut full-length work within the last five years.
The Imago Fellowship supports creative writing, fiction or non-fiction across any genre. SLNSW is also offering a range of history and cultural research fellowships, which also close 10 July.
Newcastle Short Story Awards – closes 12 July
Prize. Run by the Hunter Writers Centre, the national Newcastle Short Story Awards offer a none too shabby first prize of $3000 and second prize of $1500. The judges for this year have yet to be announced, but in previous years they’ve included authors like Mirandi Riwoe and Angela Meyer.
The award is open to unpublished fiction under 2000 words and entries close 12 July.
Queensland Writers Fellowships (QLD) – closes 13 July
Fellowship. Worth $20,000 with a further $4500 for professional development, these are high-value fellowships for early career Queensland writers. This year, three fellowships will be awarded.
It’s expected that writers have a strong track record of published work – which in this case means either a full-length published novel or a substantial body of shorter work (seven short stories or 15 poems).
The money is intended to support the creation of new work, which can be in any genre including short stories, poetry, novels, children’s and young adult books, plays, graphic novels and other non-fiction.
The additional $4500 for professional development can be put towards things like travel to literary events or residencies, workshops, masterclasses and one-on-one mentoring.
Applications close 13 July.
Richell Prize – closes 13 July
Prize. While it seems like almost every trade publisher now has an award for fresh novels and longform work, Hachette’s is a little different, requiring just the first three chapters of a work in progress. It’s open to both fiction and narrative non-fiction, and the $10,000 award includes a year of mentoring with a Hachette publisher, to help see the work through to completion.
Applications close 13 July and must include a brief synopsis and chapter outline.
Peter Blazey Fellowship – closes 27 July
Fellowship. The $20,000 Peter Blazey Fellowship supports the development of major new non-fiction works in the fields of biography, autobiography and life writing.
The fellowship honours the memory of journalist, author and gay rights activist Peter Blazey, who published a number of books during his career, including a political biography and a memoir. The fellowship has been set up by his partner and his brother, and is now run by the University of Melbourne. Over the years, it’s supported writers like Mykaela Saunders, Fiona Murphy, SJ Norman and Declan Fry.
Applicants must have a track record as a writer. This can include published books, chapters, articles or other written works (not including self-published writing). Writers need to submit a synopsis and 5000-word sample of their work in development, and applications close 27 July.
Scarlet Stiletto Awards – closes 31 August
Prize. This short story award is for crime fiction written by Australian women. Aside from the killer name, the Scarlet Stilettos can also boast a lot of sway in the sector, having helped kick off the careers of writers like Cate Kennedy, Tara Moss, Ellie Marney and Dervla McTiernan, among many others.
There are several cash prizes on offer, with the main prize worth $2000. Stories just have be under 5000 words and include an element of crime or mystery, though there’s a lot of scope in how that can be interpreted.
Entries cost $30 for non-members, and close 31 August.
