Emerging Artist Prize
1.1 The Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Prize 2026 Opening Event will take place on 27 August 2026 (the “Event”) and is organised by Macquarie Group Services Australia Pty Limited for the Macquarie Group Art Collection (“Macquarie”).
1.2 Macquarie reserves the right in its sole discretion to allow artists to participate in the Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Prize Exhibition 2026 (the “Exhibition”). Semi-finalist artists will be notified no later than 9 June 2026. Up to fifty (50) semi-finalists may be selected.
1.3 Successful finalists will be notified no later than 16 June 2026. Up to twenty (20) finalists may be selected.
1.4 All art works must be original and completed solely by the nominated artist (“Works”). Photocopies and photographs or other reproductions of Works are not accepted for entry to the Event. By entering the Event, artists agree that their Works are original and do not infringe any intellectual property or other rights of any other party.
1.5 Works in any medium are acceptable, except for ephemeral art, and must not exceed 200 cm x 200 cm. Each Work can only be submitted once and for one prize. Submission of a Work is deemed to be acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.
1.6 Works in any medium created with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools of any sort must clearly disclose which tools were used and the artistic process by which the Work was created in the artist’s statement accompanying the Work. Macquarie may request further details from an artist on their use of such tools and may accept or reject any such Works in its sole discretion.
1.7 All Works entered must have been created between 1 January 2025 and 22 May 2026. Macquarie has the right to request proof from the artist to verify the date of creation and / or completion of the Work.
1.8 Successful finalists will be given the contact details of International Art Services Pty Limited (“IAS”) by Macquarie to arrange for transportation of the artist’s Work. IAS will provide:
a. transport of the Works, free of charge to the artist, from Australian capital cities to The Art Space, 1 Elizabeth, Sydney, NSW (the “Venue”); and
b. an AUD$1000 account (“Account”) with IAS to cover transport from the Venue back to the artist’s nominated location following the close of the exhibition, if unsold (refer to section 1.10(b)). The Artist artist will be responsible for any additional transportation costs but, should the transport be valued at less than the value of the Account, the artist will retain the balance of the Account for future transport of Works with IAS. The voucher and any balance of the Account is valid for use until 27 August 2027.
1.9 The artist acknowledges that they are solely responsible to arrange all transport of their Work, including communicating any handling, packing or transportation requirements to IAS.
1.10 Works entered must be available for exhibition at the Event and throughout the Exhibition, plus installation and removal time. Specifically:
a. If transport is not arranged in accordance with clause 1.8, Works selected for exhibition must be delivered to IAS at 450 Marion St, Georges Hall NSW 2198 by or on 19 August 2026; and
b. Unsold Works are to be collected between 9:00am and 4.00pm on 5 February 2027 (“Collection Time”) from the Venue at which the Work is exhibited. If Works are not collected by the Collection Time, Macquarie may arrange for the removal and delivery of the Works back to the artist at the cost of the artist.
1.11 Artists are responsible for their own insurance of the Works for the term of the Event, including installation, removal and transport of the Works. Macquarie takes no responsibility for insuring the Works and will not be liable in any way for any damage or loss sustained during installation, removal and transportation of the Works.
1.12 Upon arrival at the Venue, Works will be inspected for damage prior to being accepted. Damaged Works will be returned to the artist at the artist’s expense, without liability to Macquarie.
1.13 All artists consent to their Work being reproduced, without fee, by Macquarie and the media for the purpose of:
a. critical review, advertising and publicity, including, but not limited to, materials and catalogues for the Event, social media and other future Macquarie events; and
b. creating a non-commercial archive and non-lending reference or database.
1.14 For the avoidance of doubt, where the Works are used or otherwise reproduced pursuant to clause 1.13, copyright of the Works themselves will remain vested in the applicable Artist artist at all times.
1.15 The use of images submitted as part of the Work but not consisting of the Work is entirely at the discretion of Macquarie.
1.16 Macquarie reserves the right to choose exhibited Works.
1.17 All Works submitted for exhibition must be clearly labelled with artist name and title of the Work.
1.18 All Works must be ready for installation and, where practicable, using flat D rings to be placed at the back of the Work, 10cm from the top edge of the piece.
2.1 In order to submit works, artists must be:
a. Australian citizens or permanent residents;
b. Currently attending art school or completed their first qualification at an art school within the last 10 years or aligned with a recognised Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander art centre within the last 10 years. Macquarie may at its sole discretion accept Works from artists who do not meet this condition;
c. Not an employee, director, officer, contractor or consultant of any Macquarie Group company;
d. Not yet formally represented by a commercial gallery; unrepresented participation in a group show at a commercial gallery and participation in a solo exhibition/s may be accepted at the sole discretion of Macquarie;
e. Not an artist already featured in the Macquarie Group Limited Art Collection; and
f. Not a previous Finalist of any Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Prize.
2.2 Only artists who are successfully selected as semi-finalists and finalists will be notified of their selection. Finalists will be notified of their selection to be exhibited as part of the Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Prize.
3.1 The winning Works will be awarded as follows:
a. First prize is $20,000 Australian Dollars and the Work will be thereby acquired by Macquarie without any extra payment made to the artist;
b. One (1) Highly Commended Nick Waterlow Committee prize of $2,000 Australian Dollars, awarded by the Art Committee of the Macquarie Group Collection;
c. One (1) additional Highly Commended prize of $2,000.;
3.2 The prizes referred to in section 3.1 will be awarded at the judges’ discretion and, except for the first placed Work, each Work will be returned to the artist unless sold in accordance with section 4. Judges’ decisions are final and cannot be appealed.
3.3 Macquarie will at its sole discretion determine the identity of the judges (who may be external guests of Macquarie).
3.4 While Macquarie shall use reasonable endeavours to determine whether a judge may have a conflict of interest that may affect their role as judge, Macquarie shall not be liable to any artist, judge or other party for any decision made in connection with the management of a judge's conflict of interest, including any decision to remove a judge, require recusal, or adjust the judging process.
4.1 All Works must be available for sale from commencement of the Exhibition. Works will not be pre-sold before the Event with the exception of the winning Works where applicable.
4.2 The artist's price for each Work must be GST inclusive.
4.3 Macquarie will not add commission to the artist's price.
4.4 Artists must have an Australian Business Number to receive payment for sold Works and, if applicable, prize money, or otherwise complete the "Statement of Supplier" form issued by the Australian Tax Office and return it to Macquarie by no later than the Collection Time.
4.5 Prices cannot be altered after entry to the Event.
4.6 Works may be made available to be sold in editions with the prior approval of Macquarie and provided that all editions of a work are available for sale in the Exhibition, with the exception of a reasonable number of artist’s proofs.
4.7 The artist appoints Macquarie as the sole agent of the Work/s entered for the duration of the Exhibition.
5.1 All dates in this document may be revised by Macquarie in its sole discretion. Updated dates will be published on the Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Prize website, and if you have submitted an entry Macquarie will also notify you of any relevant date change by email.
5.2 Artists may propose up to 3 (three) works each by 5:00pm AEST on Friday, 22 May 2026 by submitting low resolution images through the nominated portal together with their CV and a brief artist’s statement addressing how each submitted work relates to the theme of the Macquarie Group Limited Art Collection, The Land and Its Psyche.
5.3 Final list of artists and their works will be confirmed by Macquarie no later than 9 June 2026 by notification to nominated artists selected as semi-finalists.
5.4 Final list of artists and their Works will be confirmed by Macquarie by no later than 16 June 2026 by notification to nominated artists selected as finalists.
5.5 Delivery of selected Works to IAS Georges Hall by 19 August 2026.
5.6 Installation of Works from 22-24 August 2026.
5.7 Prize Launch and announcement of winner on Thursday, 27 August 2026 at 6:00pm AEST.
5.8 Collection of unsold works at conclusion of the Exhibition on 5 February 2027 between 9:00am and 4:00pm AEDT.
