NORTHERN TERRITORY ART AWARD
TERMS AND CONDITIONS 2026

Darwin Visual Arts is announcing the 2026 Northern Territory Art Award. This articulates the agreement with the artists.

Entries for this award welcome artists throughout the Northern Territory at all stages of their careers and across all mediums. 

Selected artworks will be exhibited in Darwin during May 2026, artworks will be judged by an independent panel and feature monetary prizes. 

Residency Requirement: Participants must currently reside in the Northern Territory and be a Northern Territory Resident for more than 12 months, prior to application closing date. 

Age: Artists under 18 may enter, but their works will be judged alongside adult submissions. A parent or guardian is required to complete the application form for anyone under 18 years of age. 

Definition of Artist: The term "artist" may refer to an individual, collaboration, or group. The submitted entry must be created solely by the named artist or artists. 

Originality: Entries must be original artworks created by the entrant(s). 

Timeframe: Artworks must have been completed within the last two years of the application closing date, and must not have been exhibited before.

Submission Limit: Artists may submit one entry.

Size Restrictions:  Artworks are subject to discretionary limits. Size of 2 meters in any direction and 80 kilograms.

Display Readiness: All artworks must be ready for display if selected for the exhibition (e.g., paper artworks must be framed or mat-boarded with appropriate hanging elements). Artworks failing this requirement will not be included in the exhibition.

Electrical equipment submitted as part of artwork must include a valid test and tag. 

Application Process
Artists must submit a fully completed online application form. 

(Applications that have not been paid for will not be reviewed.)

$55 per entry

$45 for DVA members or concession

Concession rates apply to applicants who are 60+, under 18, or hold a valid concession card.

Payment Details (Direct Transfer):

Account Name: DVA

BSB: 633 000

Account Number: 157 098 039

Reference: NTA [Artist Name]

(Example: NTA Jane Smith)

Submission Deadline: No late entries will be accepted.

Delivery: Artworks selected for the exhibition must be delivered Darwin Visual Arts during designated hours (to be confirmed).

Artists are responsible for packaging, freight, and insurance costs of their artworks to and from Darwin Visual Arts. 

All delivered artworks will be held for the duration of the exhibition and may not be available to collect until after the exhibition deinstallation. 

Shortlisted Artworks: Artworks will be selected according to digital submissions by a panel.

Exhibition: The Northern Territory Art Award reserves the right to consider, but not necessarily exhibit all submitted artworks. Only shortlisted artworks will feature in the exhibition. 

Exhibiting artists must be a Darwin Visual Arts artistic member. 

Judging: A judging panel of art sector professionals will evaluate and decide on the winning artworks, after the shortlisted artworks have been delivered and installed.

Payment of Winners: Payment of prize monies will be coordinated by DVA. Where an award is conferred on an artwork with collaborating artists, the award value will be split evenly between those artists unless an agreement between artists exists.

Insurance: Artists are responsible for their own transit security for delivery. Once delivered, artworks are covered under insurance until the artwork pickup time is lapsed.Artists acknowledge and agree that Darwin Visual Arts does not provide storage for any artworks submitted and shall bear no responsibility for their safekeeping following artwork pickup dates.

Sales Requirement: Artworks are required to be for sale. It is the responsibility of the artist to indicate the price of the artwork in the entry form, inclusive of GST and commission. The Northern Territory Art Awards will take 25% commission of the sale price. 

Unsold artworks that are not collected within two weeks from the deinstallation of the exhibition will be deemed to be the property of the Northern Territory Art Award and may be dealt with at the discretion of the Northern Territory Art Award, including disposal.

Sold Artworks: All sold artworks must be collected by the buyer or their agent from Darwin Visual Arts, 1/8 McMinn Street, Darwin City, NT, 0800. Buyers will be informed where to collect their artwork.

Where artworks cannot be collected in person, the buyer must communicate with the Northern Territory Art Award to organise artwork postage. The freight will be at the cost of the buyer.

Copyright, reproduction and permissions: The artist warrants that the artwork does not infringe any copyright, moral rights, intellectual property rights or other rights of any third party. The artist remains the copyright owner of the artwork and will be acknowledged as the creator of the artwork at all times. 

The artwork may be documented by inclusion of the Northern Territory Art Award catalogue for archival and educational purposes. 

By entering an artwork in the Northern Territory Art Award 2026, the artist grants Darwin Visual Arts and Charles Darwin University non-exclusive, non-commercial, perpetual, licence to freely use, reproduce, publish and communicate the selected artwork for publicity, promotional and educational purposes associated with the Award in print and digital media. 

The winning artworks may also be reproduced to promote future Northern Territory Art Awards. 

The artist grants Darwin Visual Arts and Charles Darwin University permission to provide the media with photos and information about the artwork and artist for the purpose of promoting or reporting on the exhibition or award recipients. 

Privacy Policy: The Northern Territory Art Award is committed to ensuring the safety and security of personal data. The Northern Territory Art Award will only ask for data that is required to fulfil the application process. This information is stored on third party websites (AirTable). Please read and access the individual website Privacy Statement for further information. 

Code of Conduct: Artists are expected to comply and Darwin Visual Arts Code and Charles Darwin University of Conduct. Any negative behaviour may result in an application being denied and payment not refunded. 

Important Dates:

Entries Open: Friday, 28 November 2025

Artwork Submission Deadline: Monday, 9 March 2026

Artists Notified: Friday 27 March 2026

Artwork Delivery Dates (to Darwin Visual Arts): Monday, 4 May – Sunday, 18 May 2026

Exhibition Duration: Friday, 29 May – Saturday, 11 July 2026

Artwork Pickup: Monday, 15 July – Thursday, 29 July 2026

Enquiries: For all general enquiries email awardcoordinator@gmail.com 

Please note this email is checked weekly.

We gratefully acknowledge our presenting partner, Midpul Art Gallery, Charles Darwin University.