Australia's most prestigious art prize is coming to Geelong in 2025.
Geelong’s home of contemporary art and inquisitive exhibitions, Geelong Gallery, has this morning announced the securing of the distinguished portrait art prize, the Archibald Prize, for 2025.
As one of Australia’s leading galleries and oldest in regional areas, Geelong Gallery will be the exclusive Victorian venue to display the works submitted in the 2025 prize round.
Archibald Prize 2025
- When: 30 August – 9 November 2025
- Where: Geelong Gallery, 55 Little Malop Street, Geelong
Stay up to date with what’s happening within the region’s art scene here.
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The Archibald Prize is a competition initiative run annually by the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW, under the will of JF Archibald to award the best portrait, ‘preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia’. Offering a value of $100,000 in cash payment to the winner, along with winner of the Packing Room Prize receiving payment of $2500 plus a cash prize of $500 from ANZ, and the winner of the ANZ People’s Choice receiving a payment of $4000 plus a cash prize of $1000 from ANZ, the Archibald Prize is one of Australia’s most entered and celebrated awards.
2024 saw Kurrajong-based artist, Laura Jones, take home the major prize for the Archibald Prize 2024 for her portrait of Australian author and conservationist Tim Winton. Jones was selected out of the 1005 entries with 57 selected to exhibit. Additionally, Matt Adnate took home the Packing Room prize for Rhythms of Heritage, and Angus McDonald received the People’s Choice award for portrait of Professor Marcia Langton AO.
With entry forms opening for the 2025 round from 3 February, the prize culminates in an exhibition held at the Art Gallery of NSW from 10 May to 17 August 2025, followed by the exhibition tour until 13 September 2026. Geelong Gallery will be one of the first sites to exhibit the works on that national tour and the exclusive Victorian venue.
The Archibald Prize will follow on from an extensive year of exhibitions for the Geelong Gallery, with current exhibitions Rauschenberg & Johns—Significant Others, A People’s Press—Noel Counihan and The Sweet Spot—Between Art & Design running into the first quarter of the new year, and the Furture Creatives 2025 exhibition opening in February.
Stay tuned for a further announcement about ticket sales in early 2025 via the Geelong Gallery website and mailing list. Sign up here.
