Entries Open for Inaugural $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize

Accepting entries from Australian artists under the age of 40, the Ramsay Art Prize is expected to see a diverse set of submissions from artists working across all mediums, including sculpture, painting, drawing, photography, installation, sound, digital and live art.

As well as picking up $100,000, the winning artwork will be permanently acquired by the Art Gallery of SA for its own exhibition. Having been announced earlier this year, Art Gallery Director Nick Mitzevich said the Ramsay Art Prize aimed to provide more motivation to Australia’s younger talent, noting that many artists establish themselves at a young age.

“Generally speaking, artists make their mark early – they establish a signature that is then honed but often their early work is brave, fresh and career defining,” Mitzevich said in May this year.

“Tom Roberts painted A break away! when he was 35 years old proving that artists often hit their heights in their early years and that opportunities early on are formative and can change the nature of Australian art.”

Supported in perpetuity by the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation, 2016 marks the first year of this enormous prize. All finalists for the prize will be exhibited at the Art Gallery of SA from May 27 until August 27 2017. An international panel of eminent artists and curators will decide on the Ramsay finalists.

This year those judges will include Director of the Auckland Art Gallery, Rhana Devenport, Australian artist Nell and the Art Gallery of South Australia’s inaugural curator of contemporary art, Leigh Robb. A further $15,000 People’s Choice Prize will also be offered this year courtesy of Lipman Karas, and decided upon by a public vote.

Read on for crucial dates regarding the Ramsay Art Prize:
Submissions Close: Monday, December 12 2016
Finalists Announced: Wednesday, April 26 2017
Winner Announced: Friday May, 26 2017
Official Opening: Friday May, 26 2017
People’s Choice Announced: Friday, August 11 2017
Exhibition Season: Saturday, May 27 to Sunday, August 27 2017 artgallery.sa.gov.au/ramsay