About

Founded in 2021, the National Emerging Art Prize was established to provide a highly visible national platform to identify, promote and support the most promising emerging visual and ceramic artists in Australia.

The prize exists to not only offer a robust and highly visible platform to showcase artists in the emerging stages of their career, but also to furnish the winners and runners up with a significant cash prize and suite of non-cash prizes to further support their practice, and to provide a pathway to a long-term art career and representation.

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 winner will also receive 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
Solo Exhibition at Michael Reid Northern Beaches in 2023
3 x 1 hour mentoring sessions with Michael Reid OAM, Gallery Director Toby Meagher, and Curator Amber Creswell Bell
Art Collector Magazine annual subscription
Winners will also receive a suite of non-cash prizes including art transport, framing, flights, book packs, magazine subscriptions, 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
ArtMonthly Magazine annual subscription

PRIZE FOR EMERGING CERAMICISTS

Offering a total prize pool of $7,000, up to 25 finalists will be invited to participate in an exhibition hosted by Michael Reid CLAY, with all works available for sale to the public. This prize looks to connect collectors with emerging ceramicists.

The overall single winning ceramic entry receives an acquisitive $5000 cash prize.

The overall winner will also receive the Michael Reid Gallery Prize of a solo show with the CLAY program at Michael Reid Northern Beaches in the following year.

Overall Winner:

$5,000 acquisitive Cash Prize
Solo Exhibition with CLAY at Michael Reid Northern Beaches in 2023
2 x 1 hour mentoring sessions with Michael Reid OAM, Gallery Director Toby Meagher, and Curator Amber Creswell Bell

A 1-year The Australian Ceramics Association (TACA) membership
A 1-year subscription to The Journal of Australian Ceramics courtesy of TACA.
Professional photographic documentation of the exhibition

CURATOR & SELECTION PANEL

The Selection Panel

The curator of the National Emerging Art Prize 2021 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 finalist’s exhibition.

Katrina Strickland – Editor, Good Weekend & media tastemaker
Lorraine Tarabay – Chair of the Board of the Museum of Contemporary Art & Collector
David Wenham – Art Collector & arts advocate
Vicki Grima – Executive Officer, The Australian Ceramics Association and Editor, The Journal of Australian Ceramics
Glenn Barkley – Multidisciplinary curator & ceramicist
Megan Monte – Art Professional, Director of Ngununggula Regional Gallery
Harry Roberts – Belle Magazine
Nicole Roberts – Morgans Financial