The Australian Artists Awards is Australia's first Artist judged competition, created to support Emerging Artists,
with $7,000 of prizes in the 2025 show. The first prize is $6,000 and the second prize is $1,000 for the artworks with the most votes.
Artworks entered can be old or new - painted 20 years ago or tomorrow.
50 finalists will be on display in the Able Gallery in September. The cash prizes and 10 "Highly Commended" certificates will be presented on Awards Night, along with an Encouragement Award valued at $600 sponsored by Eckersleys.
Other Art competitions have a panel of judges chosen by the promoter.
In the Australian Artists Awards, the competing Artists are the judges, voting in an
anonymous system that ensures only the artwork is judged; nothing is known about the artist who created the work until after voting has completed.
We believe that Peer Voting by hundreds of practising artists guarantees an even playing field for all participants, irrespective of their profile, art portfolio or connections. See the FAQ for details.
Everyone has preferences and, even with the best of intentions, to expect a small group of judges to deliver an unbiased verdict is unrealistic.
Artists works are best judged by their peers; the combined experience of hundreds of fellow artists will always trump that of a handful of people who may or may not be influenced by their own likes and dislikes.
The awards are for the best artworks in the competition and not a judgment on the artist or their portfolio.
The competition is open to anyone 18 years and over, residing in Australia.
The entry fee is $35 per entry, non-refundable.
Artworks must be For Sale, and a commission on sales is applicable.
Entry Open Date is May 30th 2025.
Entry Close Date is July 31st 2025.
Voting: 9th-16th August.
Finalists Notified: 25th August 2025.
Finalist Exhibition 18th-25th September 2025.
Awards Night 20th September 2025.
Online Gallery of all entries: Through September 2025.
Artworks must be .JPG files no larger than 5 MB. 500KB preferred.
The Voting is based on your uploaded artwork image.
If you become a Finalist: If your uploaded artwork image is different to the physical work displayed, you will be disqualified.
REGISTER using the button above. You must agree to the Terms and Conditions. You will create a password and be allocated a username.
LOGIN After successfully registering you must LOGIN using the button above. The My Profile button will become available.
MY PROFILE This button allows you to Add your Artist details and your Artwork.
In My Profile is the MY ENTRIES button. Here you Add your Artwork details, maximum of two artworks in .JPG format, maximum size 5MB.
Transfer your payment to the Arts Collective bank account using the details in the My Entries/Payments button.
Your artwork will be marked 'Pending' until payment is cleared.
Notes: Once your payment has been processed you will receive an SMS confirmation. The 'Pending' label will disappear. Ensure your phone number is correct.
Login is required so that you can Add/Modify/Update your artworks and to Vote.
You can update your artwork photograph and title as often as you wish, until the Entry Close date.
Setting up an "Artist Profile" is required. This will be used in the Online Gallery after the Awards night, so that visitors interested in your
artwork can see additional information about you, the artist.
Voting occurs between August 9th and August 16th 2025.
Each participant has 10 votes which they must allocate to 10 artworks, a single vote to each.
They cannot vote for themselves.
Every vote must be allocated or their artwork will be excluded from the voting process, and will receive no votes.
After the close of voting, the votes will be tallied.
If there is a tie for any of the prizes then the organisers will, at their discretion, amalgamate prize monies if necessary and split prizes between the tying artworks.
The organisers decisions are final.
The top 50 artworks with the most votes as picked by the voting software are "The Finalists".
Finalist artworks MUST be displayed at The Able Gallery (the Gallery), 27 Coral St, Loganlea QLD 4131.
Finalist artworks NOT displayed in the Gallery will be disqualified from winning any prize.
If an artwork displayed in the Gallery is substantially different to the photo voted on, it will be disqualified. It's votes will be forfeit and the Finalist list adjusted accordingly.
Insurance of and delivery of artworks to and from the Gallery is at the expense of the competitors.
The organisers will accept no liability for damage or costs incurred as a result of competing in this competition.
Artworks must be ready for hanging with large D Rings.
Artworks must be clearly labelled on the back with Title, Artist's Name, Price and a Contact Number.
Artworks must not have Wet paint anywhere, front, sides or back.
Artworks not adhering to the above requirements will not be hung.
Proceeds from sales will be settled within two weeks after clearance of payments or at exhibition closure.
Artworks not received during the designated times on the drop-off days will be disqualified.
All artworks are to remain in place for the duration of the exhibition.
The artist agrees to allow the organisers to have non-exclusive rights to use images of artwork for promotional purposes.
Unsold artworks are to be collected on the specified days/times.
No responsibility is taken for uncollected artworks. Uncollected artworks will be deemed abandoned goods and disposed of.
ALL artworks entered in the competition will be displayed online during September 2025.
