Decade strong local art prize ups the ante

Sunshine Coast artists have until February 2, 2024 to vie for their place among 40 local artists in the newly named Local Contemporary Art Prize 2024: reflections on here and now, and with an increased prize pool of $17,000.

Sunshine Coast Council Arts Portfolio Councillor Rick Baberowski said the Local Contemporary Art Prize works so well for our artists, our gallery and its visitors; the artists have an important reason to create new work, our gallery gets to creatively hang a diverse cross-section of art and we get to see the depth of our local talent.

“This art prize and the resulting exhibition are essential to support our increasingly flourishing Sunshine Coast arts ecology. And the structure of the awards is deliberately designed to attract submissions from emerging, mid-career and established visual artists, so we get to see a fascinating range of artworks from a broad selection of artists.” Cr Baberowski said.

“I’m always intrigued by the artistic choices that both seasoned and fledgling artists make and really enjoy seeing our contemporary times reflected through the lens of artists.”

Caloundra Regional Gallery, in partnership with The Gallery's Friends, invites artists living within the Sunshine Coast and Noosa regions, working across all mediums, to submit 2D and 3D works for the Local Contemporary Art Prize 2024.

Originally known as Local Artist, Local Content, the annual art prize was created by the Friends Regional Gallery Caloundra Inc. (‘Friends’) in 2014. Now in its tenth year, the prize has been given fresh energy via its new name Local Contemporary Art Prize, reflecting the here and now of artists living and working on the Sunshine Coast.

Forty finalists will be selected for the exhibition and winners will share in $17,000 prize money, thanks to this year’s sponsors: Friends of the Gallery, Mary Henzell Investments, Localvolts and Geoff Lyons Solicitors.

Key Dates

Entries open: Friday 8 December 2023

Entries close: Friday 2 February 2024

Finalists advised of selection: Monday 26 February 2024

Delivery of artworks: Wednesday 13 - Friday 15 March 2024, between 10am and 4pm

Winners announcement/opening: Thursday 21 March 2024, 6-8pm.

Exhibition dates: Thursday 21 March – Sunday 5 May 2024

Collection of artworks: Tuesday 7 - Wednesday 8 May 2024

Award Categories

Major Acquisitive Award: $10,000 prize

2D Excellence Award: $2,500 prize   supported by Mary Henzell Investments

3D Excellence Award: $2,500 prize   supported by Localvolts

People’s Choice Award: $2,000 prize supported by Geoff Lyons Solicitors and Friends of the Gallery 

Stay up to date with all the latest news, events and exhibitions by subscribing to the e-newsletter at gallery.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au or following @caloundraregionalgallery on Facebook and Instagram.

Caloundra Regional Gallery is open from 10am, Tuesday to Sunday, and located at 22 Omrah Avenue, Caloundra.