NOOSA YOUTH ART PRIZE 2026
A $500 prize for young artists, with finalists exhibited at The J, Noosa, hanging alongside some of the best work in the country.
FOR ARTISTS AT THE VERY START, ON THE SAME WALLS AS THE ESTABLISHED. $500 prize for the winner.
If you are under 25 and still studying, this one is for you. Work in any medium is welcome, and it will be judged by the same panel as the main prize, shown in the same exhibition, and announced on the same night.
Shown and sold online
Ten online finalists are exhibited on The Non Gallery website for the run of the show, and if you would like to offer your work for sale, you can.
Exhibited at The J, Noosa
From those ten, three are chosen to hang at The J in Noosa through October, in the same room as the main prize, in front of the collectors and curators who come through.
We take no commission
If your work finds a buyer, the sale price is yours to keep. The only things that come out of it are payment processing and shipping, which are the costs of getting the money to you and the work to whoever bought it.
Art submissions of any media welcome
The maximum size for any canvas is 2m x 2m. For all other media forms, we will assess on a case to case basis. Please get in touch - info@thenongallery.com.au - if you have concerns.
PAINTING
PHOTOGRAPHY
SCULPTURE
MIXED MEDIA
HOW IT WORKS
The Process
Pay your $30 and we will send a confirmation through with your submission link. There is no need to have anything finished at this point, plenty of people enter well before they have started.
When you are ready, follow your link and upload your images, your details and a little about the work. If you are under 18, this is where a parent or guardian adds their sign-off.
Submissions close 20 September at 6pm.
On 21 September we announce ten online finalists, each given their own page on The Non Gallery website for the run of the exhibition, and each able to be offered for sale.
From those ten, three works are selected to hang at The J from 9 October, and the $500 winner is chosen from the three and announced at the soiree.
Once the exhibition closes on 29 October you can collect your work from The J the following day, or from 3D Pod in Noosa any time in the fortnight after.
IMPORTANT DATES
Entry Period
Entry - $30
The same price the whole way through, with no tiers to keep track of
Entries close: Sunday 20 September 2026, 6pm
Announcements
Online finalists announced: Monday 21 September 2026
Ten works, each shown on The Non Gallery website
Wall finalists at the J announced: Thursday 8 October 2026
Three works, chosen from the ten
The Exhibition
Soiree and Prize Announcement: Thursday 8 October 2026, 5pm
$500 prize awarded
Exhibit open at the J: Friday 9 October to Thursday 29 October 2026 (during the J's opening hours)
PURCHASE AN ENTRY
One entry covers one artwork, and you are welcome to enter up to two if you cannot choose between them. Buy your entry now and take your time over the submission.
SUBMIT YOUR ARTWORK BY SEPTEMBER 20
Entrants receive email instructions with step-by-step guidance on preparing and submitting their artwork.
Confirmation emails can take up to 5 minutes.
Maximum of 2 entries per artist.
Need help?
Frequently Asked Questions
ENTERING
Anyone under 25 on 20 September 2026 who is enrolled in study at the time. School, TAFE, college, university and registered homeschool programs all count, whether you are studying full-time or part-time. You will need to be living in Australia.
Then you are eligible, and welcome. The cap is on age rather than level of study, so where you happen to be in your education makes no difference.
We simply ask for your school or institution and your year level when you submit. If you make it through to the finalists we may come back and ask for a student card or a letter of enrolment, but that is all it takes.
Absolutely, and we would like you to. A parent or guardian just fills in a short consent section on the submission form, which covers your entry, the use of images of your work in promotion, and the sale of the piece if you decide you would like to sell it.
You can, and some people do. You would pay both entry fees and put a different artwork into each, since a single piece cannot be considered for both prizes at once.
Up to two, with each entry covering one artwork.
Painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture and mixed media are all welcome. Digital work is considered case by case, so get in touch if you are not sure where yours sits.
PRICING AND PAYMENT
$30 per artwork, and it stays $30 for the whole entry period. There is no early bird rate to catch and no last-minute price rise to worry about.
Yes, and that is how most people go about it. Buy your entry whenever suits, then use the link in your confirmation email once the work is ready. Submissions close on 20 September.
Entry fees are not refundable once purchased, so it is worth being reasonably sure before you buy.
THE PRIZE
$500 in cash to one winner, announced at the soiree on the evening of 8 October.
You do. The main prize is acquisitive, meaning the winning work is bought, but this one is not. The $500 is a prize rather than a purchase, so the piece remains yours and you are still free to offer it for sale.
The same panel that judges the Noosa Art Prize, considering the Youth Art Prize as its own category rather than measuring it against the main field.
The prize goes to your parent or guardian's account to be held for you, and lands within thirty days of the announcement.
Not at all. Listing it for sale is entirely up to you and you decide the price. If you are under 18, your parent or guardian settles on that price with you.
Nothing in commission. Payment processing fees and shipping costs come out of the sale, and everything left over is yours.
THE EXHIBITION
At The J in Noosa, running from 9 to 29 October 2026, in the same exhibition as the Noosa Art Prize.
Getting the work to The J is up to you, by a date we confirm shortly after the announcement on 21 September. If you are further afield, add a return shipping address to your submission and we will be in touch to sort out the arrangements with you.
Yes, everything needs to arrive exhibition-ready. We will send finalists the presentation details along with the delivery dates.
Artwork can be collected from The J on 30 October, or from 3D Pod in Noosa for up to two weeks after. If you are outside the area, include a return shipping address in your submission form and we will be in touch with arrangements.
Have a question not answered here?
Send it to info@thenongallery.com.au and we will come back to you within a couple of working days.