Gosford Art Prize

 Gosford Regional Gallery is pleased to present Gosford Art Prize 2026

The competition is open to all artists across Australia and attracts entries in all mediums. This year, the prize pool is valued at $55,000 and includes the acquisitive Gosford Art Prize worth $25,000, the Gosford Ceramics Prize $10,000, a First Nations Artist Prize $10,000 and the Moving Image Art Award $10,000.

The Gosford Art Prize started as a community-driven project in 1970 and has grown to become one of the highlights of the Gallery’s exhibition calendar and an important part of the cultural landscape of the Central Coast.  The 2026 iteration is the 27th time the prize will be presented at Gosford Regional Gallery.

The Gosford Shire Art Prize began in 1970 as a feature of the first ‘Venetian Carnival’, an arts and tourism event which would later become known as the ‘Festival of the Waters’ held between 1970 to 1986. It was organised by the Gosford branch of the Arts Council of NSW, an association formed to encourage artistic expression and the appreciation of The Arts across the region. Councillor Jim Tarbox and arts advocate Phyllis Bennett were among a small group of members instrumental in staging the Prize at that time. Acclaimed artist Sir Russell Drysdale, a Central Coast resident, was the first judge of the Prize and served as its Patron until 1979. Drysdale was most likely responsible for the appointment of other high-profile judges such as Daniel Thomas, then Curator of the Art Gallery of NSW and James Gleeson, Director of the National Gallery of Australia.

In the early years organisers struggled from year to year to find a suitable exhibition space. It was held in the Gosford Library, and subsequently in empty shops on Mann St, the Masonic Hall, the Gosford Music Society Hall, Laycock St, and even an open-air exhibition at the Gosford Waterfront. It was set up by local volunteer groups such as the Apex Club, the Lions Club, the Central Coast Art Society and the Central Coast Potters Society who were invited to manage the ceramic section of the exhibition.

After a brief lapse between 1987 to 1990, the Prize was revived in 1991 by the Multi Arts Confederation headed by arts advocate Margaret Hardy. It was run from 1991 to 1993 as part of a one-day arts festival in Kibble Park, before finding its home at the newly constructed Arts Centre at Caroline Bay completed in 1994. From 1994 to 1997 it was known as the Gosford Sister City Art Prize before being renamed the Frog Hollow Gosford City Art Exhibition in 1999.

In the year 2000 the Gosford Art Prize found a permanent home in the newly built Gosford Regional Gallery and has been a fixture of the exhibition program at the Gallery ever since. Over the last 27 years it has expanded in popularity and scale with an increasing number of entries and prize money. From the 48 paintings entered in 1970 the Prize now attracts over 1000 entries each year from around Australia. 

 Gosford Art Prize 2026 entries open Monday 25 May 2026 and close Monday 20 July 2026 at 4pm.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 26 September to 15 November 2026.

Gosford Art Prize 2026 KEY DATES and Awards

25 May Entries open

20 July Entries close 4pm

7 August Finalists announced

8 and 9 September Delivery of artworks to Gosford Regional Gallery

25 September 6pm Exhibition Opening Event and Awards presentation 

26 September Exhibition Opens

22 November Exhibition Closes

23 and 24 November Artwork Collection