The City of Greater Bendigo is delighted to launch a new Living Arts Space Small Portrait Prize open to artists who live in Greater Bendigo.
The 2025 Living Arts Space Small Portrait Prize is an opportunity for artists to celebrate people from the region and tell their story through portraiture artworks.
Artwork criteria includes:
- Portraits are welcome in any two-dimensional medium that is A5 (148 x 210 mm) - A3 (297 x 420mm) in size. Any portrait that is bigger that A3 (297 x 420mm) will not be accepted (entries do not need to be framed)
- The portrait must be of a person (while animals and pets may feature in the portrait, this is not an animal portrait prize)
- Works on paper, canvas or other material are accepted. This is not a photographic prize, but photographic materials used in collages are accepted
- Sculptures are not accepted
- This is open to artists who are 16 years and older
- Only one submission per artist is allowed and the application fee is $15
- Submissions open on March 17 and close on March 29, 2025
Visitor Services Lead Liam Daniels said this was first time the Living Arts Space had offered a portrait prize.
“The Living Arts Space is delighted to launch the Small Portrait Prize as a new initiative providing a platform for creatives in this medium,” Mr Daniels said.
“Greater Bendigo is lucky enough to be home to a large cohort of creatives who either enjoy their art as a hobby or work professionally in the field, so we expect to see a lot of interest in this prize.
“This initiative will complement the exclusive international exhibition Frida Kahlo: In Her Own Image at Bendigo Art Gallery as the Mexican icon was famous for her extraordinary portraits.
“For this new prize, it will be exciting to see a wide range of portraits inspired by people from all walks of life in the community.
“All entries will be assessed, and a list of finalists will be selected by a curator from Bendigo Art Gallery. Finalists will be displayed in the Living Arts Space for the duration of the Frida Kahlo exhibition.
“Submissions open for the Small Portrait Prize on Monday March 17 and the City is announcing the prize early to allow artists time to start thinking about ideas or creative works that meet the criteria.”
Finalists will be notified on Friday April 11, 2025. First prize is $2000 and highly commended will be $500.
The free exhibition will be held from Saturday April 26 to Sunday July 20.
The exhibition official opening celebration and awards announcement will be from 2.30pm to 4.30pm on Saturday May 3.
To read the full conditions and submission form, visit: