About

ABOUT

Founded in 2021, the National Emerging Art Prize was established to provide a highly visible national platform to identify, promote and
support Australia’s most promising emerging visual and ceramic artists. The prize exists not only to offer a robust and highly visible platform to showcase artists in the emerging stages of their careers but also to furnish the winners and runners-up with a significant cash prize and a suite of non-cash prizes to further support their practice and to provide a pathway to a long-term art career and representation. In 2025, the National Emerging Art Prize has expanded into contemporary photography with the addition of a new category, The National Emerging Art Prize for Photography.

CURATOR & SELECTION PANEL

The curator of the National Emerging Art Prize is Amber Creswell Bell. Amber has been recognised in the industry for championing the work and practices of emerging artists and ceramicists, as well as profiling their work in many of her best-selling publications on Australian art. Amber will sit on the selection panel and work with the selected artists to curate the finalists’ exhibition.

The 2024 Selection Panel

David Wenham – actor, collector & arts advocate
Gregory Hodge – contemporary artist
Michael Zavros – contemporary artist
Nici Cumpston – contemporary artist & curator
Katrina Strickland – Editor, Good Weekend
Tanya Buchanan – Editor-in-Chief, Belle magazine
Neale Whitaker – tastemaker & media personality
Tim Ross – TV presenter, architecture and design enthusiast, collector & comedian
Simone Haag – curator of furniture, art & objects and ceramic enthusiast
Sarah-Jane Pyke – Director, Arent&Pyke
Diamando Koutsellis – CEO, Australian Ceramics Association
Nicole Redden – collector & consultant
Steve Cordony – Interior stylist & style director-at-large Belle magazine

Key Dates

Open for Applications
1 July 2025

Entries Close
1 September 2025

Finalists Announced
1 October 2025

Official Exhibition Opening and Prize Announcement
30 October 2025

Inaugural Photographic Prize Announcement
31 October 2025

Exhibition Duration
23October– 7November 2025

Opening Hours
10am–4pm

Location
The Garden Gallery, Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney

THE MORGANS FINANCIAL PRIZE FOR EMERGING painters

Offering a total prize pool of $30,000, up to 25 finalists will be invited to participate in an exhibition in November with all works available for sale to the public. This prize looks to connect collectors with emerging artists.

The overall single winning entry will receive an acquisitive $20,000 cash prize – donated by our Major Sponsor, Morgans Financial Limited.

The 2025 winner also receives the Michael Reid Gallery Prize of a solo exhibition at Michael Reid Northern Beaches in the following year.

Overall Winner:

$20,000 acquisitive Cash Prize from Morgans Financial Limited
A solo exhibition at The Garden Gallery, presented by Michael Reid Northern Beaches in 2026.
3 x 1 hour mentoring sessions with Michael Reid OAM, Gallery Director Toby Meagher, and Curator Amber Creswell Bell
Winners will also receive a suite of non-cash prizes including art transport, flights, Belle magazine subscription, professional photographic documentation and more.

Award of Excellence:

$2000 non-acquisitive cash prize from Morgans Financial
A 1 hour mentoring session with Michael Reid OAM, Gallery Director Toby Meagher, and Curator Amber Creswell Bell
$500 art book pack from Thames & Hudson

THE PLATO PRIZE FOR AN EMERGING FIRST NATIONS ARTIST

Acknowledging the quality of applications received by First Nations artists in NEAP’s first iterations, 2023 saw the introduction of the Plato Prize for an Emerging First Nations Artist. Granting a non-acquisitive prize of $5000 to an outstanding First Nations artist, this prestigious award will return for its third year in 2025.

THE NATIONAL EMERGING ART PRIZE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY

In response to shifting artistic currents and market demands, the National Emerging Art Prize is expanding to include contemporary photography – Australia’s fastest-growing visual medium. This timely addition to the awards program welcomes a new generation of lens-based practitioners into the NEAP fold and acknowledges the crucial role photography plays in contemporary storytelling.

The newly launched NEAP Photography category will offer a prize pool valued at more than $10,000. The entire prize list will be announced soon.