The 2026 Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival Art Prize

The 2026 Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival offers Art Prizes in the following:

SECTIONS

Please note does not include Digital, Sculpture, Leather or Carved works.

  1. OPEN ART $1500 includes Painting, Watercolour, Drawing, Pastel, Print Making.
  2. ACQUISITIVE ART $1500 includes Painting, Watercolour, Drawing, Pastel, Print Making.
  3. PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD $250

Please note: The Acquisitive Art Award is for the Weddin Shire Council to purchase your artwork. You will receive $1500 for your work which will then become part of Councils Community Artwork Collection. If you would like to enter this and the Open Section please indicate by selecting the drop down for both Competitions.

Applications open online on 18 February 2026 and will be accepted until Midnight (AEST), 24 May 2026.

ARTWORKS TO BE DELIVERED TO THE GRENFELL ART GALLERY BY 4.00PM FRIDAY 29 MAY 2026.

Conditions of Entry

  • All Sections are open to Australian residents living and working in Australia.
  • The LOCAL ARTIST section is restricted to residents of the Weddin Shire.
  • All artworks must be the original, unaided work of the exhibitor, and not done under workshop conditions. Photographs or digital artwork will not be accepted.
  • All artworks must have been completed during the past 12 months, and not have been exhibited in any previous exhibition at the Grenfell Art Gallery.
  • Entries must be submitted online through the Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts website. The submission process is described below.
  • An entry fee of $15 must be paid for each work entered.
  • Limit of 5 works per artist with no more than two artworks per section.
  • Entry Fees are non-refundable.
  • Artists selected for exhibition in The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Art Prize will allow their works to be reproduced by print and electronic media in the advertising and promotion of the exhibition and for the exhibition catalogue and for promotion of future Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Art Prizes.
  • All expenses incurred in the online submission of the entry and, if the work is selected for exhibition, transport to and from the gallery and transit insurance, are the responsibility of the applicant.
  • The Weddin Shire Council acquires limited copyright in the winning work for the purpose of promotion of the Shire and future art Prizes. A licence to reproduce the image on postcards or other objects for retail sale with a 20% commission to the artist is also acquired.
  • Each work entered into the prize must be available for display and sale for the duration of the exhibition.
  • The organising committee reserve the right to decline works for exhibition if they are deemed unsuitable, unstable, dangerous, offensive or do not comply with the conditions of entry.
  • Judges’ decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Each entry must show the artist’s name and the size and title of the work and the retail price on the back of the work.

Entry Fees:

Adults: $15 per entry

Payment:

Payment can be made here.

Applications open on 17 February 2026 and will be accepted until Midnight (AEST), 29 May 2026.

  • Please ensure you have submitted the correct information on your entry. No additional changes can be made after the submission has been completed.
  • An online submission is complete when an entry fee of $15 per work entered, (non-refundable) has been paid and the following have been uploaded:
  1. Title of each artwork.
  2. Details for each artwork,
  • Year artwork was made.
  • Dimensions of the artwork (height x width)
  • Retail Price of the artwork; (The Gallery retains 20% of the retail price of a sold work).
  • Insurance value of the artwork.
  • The dimensions used to describe the image should be that of the image itself.
  • Artworks must not exceed 1 metre square including the frame. The Grenfell Art Gallery is not a large space.
  • Works must be suitably framed or presented for exhibition, fitted with D rings 6cm from the top of the work.

Applications open online on 17 February 2026 and will be accepted until Midnight (AEST), 29 May 2026.

Pre-selection / Judging

The prizewinning works will be announced at the exhibition opening on 5th June 2026.  Decisions of the pre-selection panel and judge are final.

Works will be exhibited in The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Art Prize 2026 exhibition from 5 June 2026 to 1.00 PM 9 June 2026 at the Grenfell Art Gallery, Main Street, Grenfell, New South Wales.

Collection of Exhibits: Unsold work can be collected after 1.00 PM Monday 8th June 2026 unless otherwise arranged.

Collection of Purchases: after 1.00PM Monday 8th June 2026 unless otherwise arranged.

Enquiries:   info@henrylawsonfestival.com.au

The People’s choice award will open on 5th June and close on the 8th June 2025, voting will be by ballot, one vote per person.

Publication and copyright

  • The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts is the sole owner of the information collected from the entry forms and any other information submitted, and will not sell, share or rent the information to others except for the sole purpose of advertising or promoting The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Art Prize 2026. The personal information of the applicant is protected from loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure or other misuse by network and system security.

Should the contact information provided by any entrant change between the time that the entry is submitted and the results are announced details must be updated by emailing info@henrylawsonfestival.com.au

  • Each finalist grants copyright in any work selected for exhibition to The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts for publication in the exhibition program. The finalist agrees that the artwork may be reproduced by The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts for critical review, archival and promotional purposes. The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts Art Prize and will at all times attribute the maker of the work.

For further information contact: info@henrylawsonfestival.com.au.

The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts reserves the right to update these terms and conditions at any time.

Please fill out the form below and a representative of the HLF committee will contact you.

Form Payment

Please ensure you complete the relevant payment associated with your form submission. Your entry is deemed incomplete until this payment is made.