Kennedy Prize 2026 Adelaide: $25k Visual Arts Award

The Kennedy Prize, a $25,000 national visual arts award for Australian artists, is now accepting entries under the theme Beauty, with submissions closing 9 October 2025. The Adelaide-based prize supports emerging and established artists, with the winner announced 6 November at the Royal South Australian Society of the Arts in the State Library of South Australia.

Call for Australian Artists to Submit under the theme ‘Beauty’

Entries are now open for the $25,000 Kennedy Prize, with artists across the country invited to submit works inspired by the theme, Beauty.

Based in Adelaide and to open to Australian artists, the Kennedy Prize is a fixture on the national visual arts calendar with the aim of showcasing emerging and previously unexhibited artists alongside established Australian luminaries.

Entries for the 2026 Kennedy Prize will close on 9 October with the winner receiving a $25,000 prize courtesy of the Kennedy Arts Foundation.

The prize has a prestigious alumni including Amaya Iturri, Sid Pattni, Byron Copland, Sally Robinson and 2025 winner Sarah Anthony, who is encouraging artists to consider submitting works for the 2026 prize.

“The Kennedy Prize provides a fantastic opportunity for Australian artists. There is a time and place for all artists, and being awarded the prize was an incredible moment in my journey. I encourage all artists to consider putting their interpretation of Beauty out there, as you never know what is possible”, Anthony said.

Prize coordinator Mark Kennedy is also encouraging artists to take a chance and submit an entry this year.

“At the heart of the Kennedy Prize is the story of remarkable artists persisting, taking chances and being celebrated. Every artist who takes part has an incredible story, and I can’t wait to see what inspirational stories and artworks we uncover this year”, he said.

Finalists will be revealed in October with the winners announced on Friday November 6 at the launch of the Kennedy/ Nyland Prize exhibition in the Royal South Australian Society of the Arts at the State Library of South Australia.

For more details on the Kennedy Prize and to submit an entry, visit www.kennedyprize.com.au

Macro photograph of a dandelion seed head with delicate, translucent seeds radiating from a central golden core against a soft teal background.

Above: Nyland Prize Winner 2025 - Simone Osborne - Seeds of Silence

2026 Kennedy Prize

Prize: $25,000
Theme: Beauty
Category: Painting
Eligibility: Australian artists, aged 18+
Entry: $50 per artwork

Entry Form: www.kennedyprize.com.au

Sunlit hillside with sparse vegetation and a distant structure under blue sky, overlaid with text about the Beauty theme.