The Fleurieu Biennale Art Prize is offered by the Fleurieu Art Foundation and is a non-acquisitive South Australian art prize open to Australian visual artists (aged 18 years of over) who create two or three dimensional artworks. A new Curator's Choice Exhibition was launched in 2026 to be held at the same time as the Fleurieu Biennale Art Prize exhibition to give more artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell.
The Fleurieu Biennale Art Prize judges will award the Fleurieu Art Prize of AU$20,000 and the Emerging Artists prize of AU$5,000. A people's choice award of AU$2,500 will be awarded at the conclusion of the exhibition to the artwork voted as most popular by exhibition attendees. The Curator's Choice prize of $2,000 will be chosen by the Curator from that exhibition.
Artists are invited respond to the theme A Sense of Place by submitting previously un-shown artworks, across multiple platforms and disciplines (excluding AI generated or assisted, or ephemeral work), produced after 1 January 2025.
The entry fee is $55.00. The entry fees are used to fund the prizes, so are returned to artists. Entries will be open from 16 March to 12 April 2026. See Terms and Conditions in the drop down menu for detailed information.
Finalists for the Fleurieu Art Prize, including Emerging Artist award will be chosen by a selection panel comprising of arts industry professionals (see 2026 Judges in the drop down menu). All finalists will be invited to exhibit their artwork at the Fleurieu Arthouse in McLaren Vale, South Australia from 5 June – 5 July 2024. The winning artworks will be selected from this exhibition.
The Curator's Choice Exhibition will be held at the Stump Hill Gallery at the McLaren Vale Visitor Information Centry. Once the Fleurieu Art Prize finalists have been selected, the Curator will select 40+ artworks from remaining entries, in the style of a 'Salon des Refuses'. Artists will need to elect to participate in this exhibition when completing the entry form.
All artworks in both exhibitions will be available for sale, with a commission retained by the not for profit Fleurieu Art Foundation to cover costs of future events.
The winners and other finalists of the Fleurieu Biennale Art Prize, the Emerging Artist prize and the Curator's Choice prize may be invited to participate in artist talks and media events surrounding the event.
Key Dates
Entries open: 16 March 2026
Entries close: Midnight Sunday 12 April 2026
Finalists announced: in the week commencing 4 May 2026
Finalists' and Curator's Choice artworks delivered: by courier 25 May - 1 June 2026, or in person 31 May or 1 June.
Exhibition: 5 June - 5 July 2026
Winners announced: 5 June 2026 at 6pm at the Fleurieu Arthouse McLare Vale