Hornsby Art Prize

The Hornsby Art Prize was established in 2009 and has continued since as an annual art award and exhibition organised and sponsored by Hornsby Shire Council and delivered in partnership with Hornsby Art Society.

Every year, the Competition and Exhibition are led by the Hornsby Art Prize Project Team comprised of Hornsby Shire Council Staff and Councillor Representatives, Hornsby Art Society Representatives and local arts community representatives.

The Hornsby Art Prize Project Team is responsible for guiding and administering the strategic direction and delivery of the Hornsby Art Prize through all phases of the annual delivery of the Prize. The project team ensures that the competition, Awards Night and exhibition planning remain relevant in the Australian contemporary arts scene and they are delivered to the highest standard.

All Australian residents aged eighteen years and over, currently living in Australia are eligible to enter the Hornsby Art Prize. Only Australian artists, resident in Hornsby Shire are eligible to be considered for the Hornsby Shire Emerging Artist Award and the Hornsby Shire Outstanding Local Artist Award. Please note that an emerging artist is defined as an artist who has practised as a professional artist continually for less than five years and wishes to further develop their chosen art form.

Judges, members of the Hornsby Art Prize Project Team and their immediate family members are not permitted to enter the Hornsby Art Prize.

The Hornsby Art Prize is subject to a three part adjudication process, to encourage rigor and objectivity in decision-making.

A panel of three visual arts professionals are called to together to adjudicate the prize. The panel will comprise of a minimum of two practicing artists, expert in different mediums and one arts administrator, academic or gallerist.

At the close of the entry period, the Judges are sent a list of participating artists. The Judges are asked to review the list and highlight any potential Conflicts of Interest as per the Hornsby Art Prize Probity Plan. Any Conflict of Interest will be recorded and managed in accordance with the Hornsby Art Prize Probity Plan to ensure the prudent management of the Hornsby Art Prize; maintaining accountability, transparency and confidentiality.

Next, the Judges are invited to Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre to review the images of the artworks submitted for entry and select the finalists for exhibition. Only works that have been chosen unanimously or with a majority decision are included in the finalists’ exhibition.

Once the exhibition has been hung, the Judges are invited to return and review the finalists’ art works hung in situ within Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre and Hornsby Central Library. They view the exhibition separately and then come together to discuss the prize winners. The prizes are awarded based on the unanimous or majority decision of the panel of Judges.

Given the nature of the prize and number of entries received, it is impossible for Judges to provide individual artists with feedback.

Following adjudication, Judge’s summarised comments are included on the labels that accompany the winning works following the award ceremony, so that viewers can understand why the work was awarded a prize.

Please note that the Hornsby Art Prize Project Team are the organisers and presenters of the Hornsby Art Prize Finalists Exhibition. As outlined above, entrant’s artworks are judged by an independent panel of adjudicators. The Hornsby Art Prize Project Team reserves the right to amend the prize pool; not to award prizes or add additional prizes based upon on the Judge’s decision.

The Judges are paid an honorary fee in appreciation of their time and expertise.

The adjudication process is the sole preserve of the panel of Judges. They decide the artworks to be included in the exhibition and award the Prizes. Neither Hornsby Shire Council staff, members of the Hornsby Art Society nor the Hornsby Art Prize Project Team participates in the decision making process.

From 2009-2016 the Hornsby Art Prize operated as an acquisitive prize, where the major prize winning piece was acquired, or kept by Hornsby Shire Council. In 2017 the Hornsby Art Prize moved from being an acquisitive prize to non-acquisitive prize. This move was in recognition of Councils’ limitations as a collecting institution and a reflection of Councils’ commitment to ensuring that the best work entered, wins; regardless of its future capacity for display within Hornsby Shire Council premises. This means that the winner of the Hornsby Art Prize will have the opportunity to sell their artwork at the Hornsby Art Prize Finalists’ Exhibition as per its ticketed price, or take the artwork home.

All artworks entered into the Hornsby Art Prize Competition are nominated by the artist for one of five categories. Those categories are Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, 3D works and Digital Art - Stills. All artworks entered into the competition are considered for the Hornsby Art Prize major award, regardless of category. The Hornsby Art Prize major award is awarded to the most outstanding work entered in that year.

In order to provide specific support, encouragement and recognition to local artists, the Hornsby Shire Emerging Artist Award and Wallarobba Outstanding Local Artist Awards are run. These prizes are designed to celebrate local artists, support them in their career development and showcase locally generated creative content to our local community.

The prize for these awards includes cash, Hornsby Art Society membership and a week exhibition, curatorial and marketing support at Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre. The exhibitions will be held during the following year’s Hornsby Shire Festival of the Arts. The cash, exhibition and membership elements of these prizes may not be split which means that acceptance of the cash prize is a commitment to the exhibition. If an artist cannot produce an exhibition (no matter how large or small) for whatever reason, they are advised not to nominate for these specific prizes.

Hornsby Shire Emerging Artist Award

Emerging artists who reside in Hornsby Shire, submitting work into the Hornsby Art Prize are asked to nominate for the Hornsby Shire Emerging Artist Award. To do this, they will need to tick the Emerging Artist tick box, and enter their postcode. An emerging artist is defined as an artist who has practised as a professional artist continually for less than five years and wishes to further develop their chosen art form. The Hornsby Shire Emerging Artist Award is awarded to the most outstanding eligible artwork, regardless of category. The Hornsby Emerging Artist Award winner is also eligible to win the Hornsby Art Prize.

Wallarobba Outstanding Local Artist Award

The Wallarobba Outstanding Local Artist Award will be awarded to the most outstanding work, in any category, produced by an artist resident in Hornsby Shire. On the online application form, artists need to nominate themselves to be considered for the award, by ticking the box and inserting their postcode. The Wallarobba Outstanding Local Award winner is also eligible to win the Hornsby Art Prize.

The Hornsby Art Prize is categorised by technique. Knowing how to categorise your entry can sometimes be a simple answer and sometimes a difficult one. Ultimately, the artist is submits the work into the category that most closely resembles the technique used to create the artwork. So an artwork that has been created by applying paint to a canvas will be submitted into the category of Painting. Where an artist has used multiple techniques to create a work, the artist must identify the predominant technique employed and submit the work in the relevant category.

The categories of Drawing and Painting do not require a specific explanation. More details are provided about the categories of 3D Works, Printmaking and Digital Art – Stills because of the plethora of ways in which they can be interpreted.

Printmaking

Printmaking is defined as the production of images using various techniques of multiplication, done by the hand of the artist. The Hornsby Art Prize accepts prints utilising (partially or totally) the three major printing processes: relief, intaglio and surface (including lithography and stencil methods).

Prints are considered to be original, even though they can exist as multiples. Every print within an edition will be considered as one original work. This means that if one print in an edition has previously been exhibited in an art prize or competition with NSW, the entire edition (including the AP or PP) will be considered to have been exhibited. Therefore the print, regardless of its number within the edition will be outside the Conditions of Entry for the Hornsby Art Prize.

Fine art photography, reproduction prints, digital art, documentary photography (of performance art) and pigment printing or Gicleé printing will not be accepted within the Printmaking category of the Hornsby Art Prize.

Digital Art

Digital Art is defined as any artistic practice or artwork that relies on the use of computers in its main creation. A Still or Still Imagery is considered to be a non-moving visual representation of something (person, place, object, concept, etc.). For the purposes of the Hornsby Art Prize, the category of Digital Art – Stills will accept non-moving artworks that have been created, in the main part, using computers, computer programs or mechanical printing processes. These artworks may be 2 or 3 dimensional. Digital photography, digital imaging, digital painting, digital illustrating and Tradigital art, subject to the Conditions of Entry, will be accepted into the Digital Art - Stills category of the Hornsby Art Prize.

All artworks submitted into the Digital Art – Stills Category will be printed in some form. Prints are considered to be original, even though they can exist as multiples. Every print within an edition will be considered as one original work. This means that if one print in an edition has previously been exhibited in an art prize or competition with NSW, the entire edition (including the AP or PP) will be considered to have been exhibited. Therefore the print, regardless of its number within the edition will be outside the Conditions of Entry for the Hornsby Art Prize.

The Hornsby Art Prize Project Team recognises that this definition of Digital Art does not embrace the fullest understanding of Digital Art and the mediums’ opportunities for working with time-based art, interactive art or digital presentation methodologies. The current definition recognises the existing display limitations of the Hornsby Art Prize delivery venues.

3D Works

3D Works are defined as artworks created in three dimensions using at least one of 5 processes including, carving, modelling (in clay), modelling and then casting, constructing or assemblage.

Where an artist has any queries about which category to submit their work into, they are encouraged to contact the Arts/Cultural Development Officer on 9847 6572.

The Hornsby Art Prize receives hundreds of entries every year. It is not possible to display every entry. This means that some form of preselection procedure must be implemented. It is also not practical to get participants together for a preselection event and exhibition and award night. This is why artists are invited to submit a photo. Visual arts professionals are chosen to judge the Prize because they understand that when they are reviewing the photographic entry, they need to ‘look through’ the photo to see the artwork within it and make a decision based on the artwork and not the photo.

Tip to artists submitting works under glass: Artworks under glass are difficult to photograph - so artists are advised to take a good photograph of the work once it is completed and before it is framed.

The exhibition is held in Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre and Hornsby Central Library. They are both functioning community spaces. There are no storage facilities. For the safety of both artworks and people on site, storage is not offered.

Artworks left onsite following the exhibition will attract a fee of $16 per artwork, per day. Artworks that remain at Council after the date outlined in the Conditions of Entry will be disposed of at the discretion of Hornsby Shire Council, and the artists will be invoiced the late fee.

The Hornsby Art Prize receives hundreds of entries every year. It is not possible to display every entry.

Two different hanging systems are used in the exhibition. The inclusion of a set of d-rings and professional hanging cord on the rear of an artwork allows greater flexibility and security when hanging works. Please see the image below for the suggested layout of the d-rings and cord.

Please note that as per condition 4.1 in the conditions of entry, artworks must be framed or appropriately mounted. Works with hanging wire, inappropriate cord, screw eyes or other protruding metal or wire will not be accepted. No wet artworks will be accepted.

3D artworks must be submitted on or accompanied by a white plinth for exhibition. The plinth must be labelled with the artist’s name, artwork title and contact details.

A label with artist’s name, phone number, title of work and price must be marked clearly on the back of each artwork. These details must be the same as the entry form.

No. Artworks will not be accepted with hanging wire attached. Artists will be asked to remove the hanging wire prior to submitting the work.

No. You will be asked to attach d-rings to the work prior to submitting the work.

No. Entries must be secured with d-rings and also have a professional hanging cord attached one third of the way down from the top edge.

No. All 3D artworks must be accompanied by some form of white plinth, unless they can be wall mounted.

No. Please note that this measurement includes the frame.

Council supports the Hornsby Art Society to deliver an art competition for young artists that is held annually as part of Youth Week. Young artists are encouraged to enter this stand-alone competition. For more information on this competition, please contact the Hornsby Art Society on 9476 8869.

No. Any work found to be anything other than what is represented on the entry form will be disqualified. The Hornsby Art Prize Conditions of Entry requires that all artworks are original, and created entirely within the two years before the exhibition. For example; if you create an original drawing and have it reproduced as a high quality digital print, you may not submit the print as a drawing because the print is a reproduction and therefore not original.

Yes. All artworks in the Hornsby Art Prize Exhibition are to be ticketed for sale.

Yes. There is a 25% commission on sales for the Hornsby Art Prize. This goes to the Hornsby Art Society to assist the Society with their ongoing support of the local arts community.

Each entry costs $45. There is no limit to the number of entries an artist can submit. There are no discounts for entries. There are no refunds for works that do not make the final exhibition.

No. Please submit one photograph for 2 dimensional works only. If entering a 3D artwork, a second image may be submitted.

Hornsby Art Society can assist with photography of works. Please contact Hornsby Art Society on 9476 8869 to enquire about assistance.

1. Use Google Chrome as your web browser. Internet Explorer, Safari etc. can cause problems with the entry process.
2. Your photo might be bigger than 2MB – it needs to be saved at a smaller size.
3. All photos need to be saved as JPEG files.
4. All photos need to be saved with the following title:
   Your Surname_ your first name_Title of artwork_1.jpeg, Eg: Davinci_Leonardo_Mona Lisa_1.jpeg

Still having problems, then make a booking with the Arts/Cultural Development Officer for assistance with your entry on 9847 6572.

Make an appointment with the Arts/Cultural Development Officer who will be able to assist you with the entry process. Bookings are essential for this free service, please call 9847 6572.

For the Arts/Cultural Development Officer to complete your entry you will need to bring the following:

• Credit Card for entry payment
• Accurate dimensions of artwork
• Photo file of Artwork

The $45 entry fee is a non-refundable administration fee. There are no refunds for works that do not make the final exhibition.

No. Curatorial responsibility for the Hornsby Art Prize Finalists’ Exhibition is maintained by Hornsby Shire Council. All artworks are hung in the best relative position as determined by the Arts/Cultural Development Officer whose decision is final.

In the event that an artist is unhappy with the position of their work, they may advise Council of this in writing. The Arts/Cultural Development Officer will remove the artwork in question from the exhibition and make it available for immediate collection by the artist. No refunds will be offered and late fees will be charged for failure to collect the work from the date that it is taken off the wall.

Where there is a discrepancy between the Conditions of Entry and the Frequently Asked Questions, the Conditions of Entry will apply.

We look forward to seeing your amazing submissions in 2021!