2026 Wyndham Art Prize

1. This competition is run by Wyndham City Council (‘Council’) in the state of Victoria, Australia only.
    
2. By entering this competition, you agree to accept these terms and conditions of entry.  If your entry does not comply with these terms and conditions, it will not be valid and will not be accepted.
    
3. Entry is restricted to Australian citizens and permanent residents who are aged 16 years and above and who have resided in Australia for at least 12 months.  Wyndham Art Prize 2023 winners are able to enter the competition but are ineligible for any of the prizes.  Council staff, Councillors, judges and their immediate families are not eligible to enter.
    
4. Entrants aged under 18 years of age must obtain their parent or guardian’s consent to enter this competition.  Entrants acknowledge that Council may contact the parent/guardian stated in the entrant’s entry form at any time for the purpose of confirming that consent has been provided.

5. To be eligible for the Local Prize, you must:

   a) be a resident of Wyndham;

   b) not be a previous Wyndham Art Prize winner in any category.

6. The competition opens at 9:00am on Friday 1 August 2025 and closes at 5.00pm on 3 Oct 2025 (‘competition period’).  Entries received outside of this competition period will not be accepted.

7. To enter the competition, between the competition period, you must:

   visit www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/wyndhamartprize2026 and:

   i) upload a digital image of your artwork; 

   ii) upload a copy of your CV; and

   ii) submit a properly completed entry form, including a 100-word artist statement; and

   b) pay the $35 non-refundable administration fee via Eventbrite.

8. If your artwork is in video format, a URL link to the video must be provided in the entry form.
    

9. Digital images of your artwork must be:

   a) in JPEG format;

   b) between 1mb and 3mb in file size;

   c)  at 300 dpi resolution; and

   d) saved using the following file name format: surname_firstname_titleofartwork.
    

10. A maximum of two artworks per entrant will be accepted.
     

11.          Artwork entered into the competition must:

               a) have been completed after 1 January 2020

              b) be available for display at the Wyndham Art Gallery between 19 January to 22 March 2026

              c) be no larger than 1.5m x 1m in dimension;

              d) weigh no more than 10 kilograms

             e) be professionally prepared for hanging and/or installation; and

             f) be clearly marked on the reverse with the entrant’s name, address and the title of the artwork.

12. Entries must be your own original work and must not contain any objectionable, profane, insulting, inflammatory or defamatory material, or infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights.

13. You acknowledge and agree that you retain copyright in your artwork.

14. Where a person is capable of being identified in your entry, you must obtain that person’s consent (or the consent of their parent or legal guardian if they are aged under 18) for the entry to be entered into this competition and displayed and published in accordance with these terms and conditions. Evidence of receipt of any such consent must be provided to Council upon request.

15. Judging to shortlist entries will commence on 6 Oct 2025. Shortlisted entrants will be contacted by Council no later than 27 October 2025.

16. Shortlisted entrants must, at their own cost and at their own risk, ensure that their artwork is delivered to the Wyndham Art Gallery on the 15, 16 or 17 December 2025 (between the hours of 10:00am and 4:00pm only) and is collected on the 26, 27 or 28 March 2026 (between the hours of 10:00am and 4:00pm only).  Council may, acting in its absolute discretion, agree to an alternative delivery or collection time.

17. If the shortlisted entrant uses a courier to deliver and collect their artwork, they must ensure their artwork is sufficiently packed for delivery, provide their return postal address and supply Council with a consignment note for collection of the artwork by a courier by 4:00pm 13 March 2026.  Council will repackage the artwork prior to collection using the existing packing only.

18. If required by Council, shortlisted entrants must provide installation instructions for their artwork.

19. Council may, acting in its entire discretion, determine not to display a shortlisted entrant’s artwork at the Wyndham Art Gallery.

20. The judges will determine four competition winners from all shortlisted entries: the winners of the First, Second and Third Prizes and the Local Emerging Art Prize category. The People’s Choice Award winner will be awarded to the entrant whose artwork receives the most votes from visitors to Wyndham Art Gallery during opening hours between 22 January and 22 March 2026

21. Winners will receive the relevant cash prize amount listed below (total prize pool valued at $40,500). 

22. The winners of all Prizes will be announced at the Wyndham Art Prize Exhibition opening, to be held at the Wyndham Art Gallery between 6:30pm and 8:30pm on 22 January 2026.

23. The winner of the People’s Choice Award will be announced at an exhibition launch to be held at the Wyndham Art Gallery between 6:30pm and 8:30pm on 9 April 2026

24.All winners’ names will subsequently be published in a Council media release and on Council’s website and social media pages. Winners consent to their names and images of their artwork being published by Council in connection with this announcement.

25. The winner of the Local Artist Prize acknowledges and agrees that the Local Artist Prize is an acquisitive prize and that title to their artwork will pass to Council upon payment of the cash prize amount. The winner further agrees to enter into any agreement(s) that Council may reasonably require to give effect to the acquisition of their artwork.

26. If winners cannot be contacted within 2 business days of being judged Council may opt to conduct further judging to determine a new winner in any category.

27. If a prize has not been claimed within 2 business days of being contacted, the winner will be deemed to have surrendered the prize and Council may opt to conduct further judging to award the unclaimed prize.

28. Council reserves the right not to award a prize in any category.

29. Prizes are not transferable.

30. Council may, acting in its entire discretion, require winners to provide evidence of their identity, address and/or residency.

31. Shortlisted entrants and winners grant Council an irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-commercial licence to display, publish and otherwise use their artwork, including their artist statement (in whole or in part):

a) as part of the Wyndham Art Prize Exhibition at Wyndham Art Gallery from 1 January until 23 March 2026; and

b) in any promotional material, whether in print or online and whether published by Council or a third party, including without limitation, the catalogue for the Wyndham Art Prize Exhibition; and

c) on Council’s websites and social media pages,

for the purpose of promoting the Wyndham Art Prize and Wyndham Art Gallery.

32. The licence granted under condition 31 by the winner of the Local Emerging Artist Prize is granted in perpetuity.  For all other shortlisted entrants and winners, the licence granted under condition 31 is for a term of 5 years.

33. When displaying, publishing or otherwise using the artwork in accordance with clause 31, Council will credit the artist using the name provided in their entry form.  Any digital display of the works will be low resolution to prevent copying.

34. Council may request shortlisted entrants’ social media handles or profile links, which Council may, acting in its entire direction, publish in connection with publishing the artwork in accordance with condition 31.

35. You acknowledge and agree that while your artwork is in Council’s custody and on display at the Wyndham Art Gallery, it will be covered by Council’s insurance.  You further acknowledge and agree that at all other times, including when transporting your artwork to and from the Wyndham Art Gallery, insurance is entirely your responsibility.  Council recommends that all entrants obtain appropriate insurance cover for their artwork.

36. To the extent permitted by law, Council is not liable to you for any loss, damage, claim or expense suffered as a result of or in connection with your participation in the Wyndham Art Prize.

37. You indemnify, keep indemnified and hold harmless Council, its Councillors and employees against all costs, claims, loss and liability arising in connection with your breach or potential breach of these terms and conditions, including without limitation, condition 12.

You acknowledge and agree that if you do not collect your artwork from the Wyndham Art Gallery by 20 April 2026, your artwork:

a) will be deemed to be abandoned.

b) will become the property of Council; and

c) may be disposed of in any manner as Council sees fit, including by sale or auction.

39. Council accepts no responsibility for late, lost, incomplete, corrupt or invalid entries.

40. If for any reason, the competition cannot be run as planned, Council reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the competition.

41. Council reserves the right to change or modify these conditions at any time.

42. Council’s decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

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