Banyule Award for Works on Paper
The Banyule Award for Works on Paper is awarded biennially to an outstanding contemporary work on paper. This is a prestigious national art prize, with the winning artwork entered into the Banyule Art Collection.
In 2023, in addition to acquiring the winning artwork, we acquired 6 additional artworks from the finalists’ exhibition, continuing to make a significant investment in Australian artists and in this prize.
Each iteration of the Banyule Award for Works on Paper is directed by a theme that aligns either with a current direction in art, pressing contemporary issue or a matter of local interest at the time.
2026 theme
The Heidelberg School was the first significant colonial art movement in Australia. The name was first coined in 1891 by art critic Sidney Dickinson to describe the group of Australian Impressionist artists who painted en plein air in the rural outskirts of Sydney and Melbourne, and had established an outdoor painting camp in the Heidelberg and Eaglemont area.
With their iconic representation of Australia’s colonial history and heritage, these realist and highly romanticised European-style paintings have long provided us with the artists’ early impressions of the landscape and settler life.
We invite artists to enter artworks that critique, respond to, are inspired by, or otherwise explore concepts around the Heidelberg School art movement, interrogating our ideas of the Australian landscape, heritage and colonial history.
This is an exciting opportunity to have your artwork displayed alongside original Heidelberg School paintings, which are on long-term loan from the National Gallery of Australia with support from the Australian Government as part of Sharing the National Collection. #artacrossaustralia
Installation view: Painters of the Heidelberg School from the National Collection, Art Gallery 275, 2026
Learn more about the Heidelberg School paintings on loan or visit the gallery for inspiration.
Key 2026 dates
- Entries open 20 April
- Entries close 12 July
- Finalists announced on 7 August
- Exhibition dates run from 18 September to 29 November
The 2026 entry fee is $40 per entry, with up to 2 entries per person.
Prizes
- Main Acquisitive Prize: $10,000
- Commendation Prize: $1000
- People’s Choice Award (voted by public, announced at the end of the exhibition period): $1000
Terms and conditions
- Artists must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident residing primarily in Australia.
- Artists must be aged 18 or over as of 1 January 2026.
- All artworks submitted for the Award must be original works by the artist whose name appears on the entry form and produced since January 2024.
- All entries have to be works on paper. Artworks may be in any medium, where the final piece entered for the Award is made on or with paper, including (but not exclusive to): painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking, jewelery, artists books, etc. Any questions/uncertainty about the medium can be directed to the Art Curator via email: arts@banyule.vic.gov.au
- All entries must be submitted online. No hard copy entries will be accepted. No exceptions.
Read the full terms and conditions(PDF, 165KB).
Send us your artwork
Apply to the 2026 Banyule Works on paper Award
Contact
To learn more about the award, its vision and guidelines, get in touch with us on 9490 4222 or at arts@banyule.vic.gov.au
Past exhibitions
Find out who won the prizes, who was a finalist and who judged the works.