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.
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.
Opening night and award ceremony
The 2026 Banyule Award for Works on Paper Finalists’ Exhibition opens on Friday 18 September, with a bumper crowd of excited artists, their friends and our arts community coming together to celebrate this highly anticipated biennial event.
The exhibition showcases 27 artworks responding to the theme The Heidelberg School.
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