Terms and conditions of entry
The Basil Sellers Art Prize is an acquisitive biennial award celebrating artistic excellence and supporting creative practitioners. Offering a prize pool of over $55,000, the prize champions 2D artworks in the traditional mediums of painting, drawing, and printmaking (unique state).
The winning work will be acquired by businessman and philanthropist, Basil Sellers AM for his private collection.
Artists from Eurobodalla will also be eligible for the Eurobodalla Shire Council’s acquisitive award of $5,000.
Before completing this application form it is important to read the entry conditions listed below.
Entry conditions
The Basil Sellers Art Prize is open to Australian residents over 18, whose principal place of residence is Australia.
Applications must meet all the following conditions:
- must have been created within 12 months of the call for entries opening, 1 June 2026.
- must be the work of one artist
- must be 2D in the traditional category of painting, drawing or printmaking (unique state prints only, limited edition prints or copies will not be accepted).
- must not involve the use of AI
- must be exhibition ready. This means professionally framed or for works on canvas fitted with D rings suitable for its size and weight. Hanging wire on smaller canvasses would also be helpful.
- must not exceed 180cm x 180cm including framing
- must not exceed 20kg
- must be available for sale
- Should an artist sell an entered work prior to finalist selection they may submit another work in its place.
- Finalist artworks may not be sold before the winners are announced as the prize is acquisitive and the work will have been included in the exhibition catalogue.
- must be available for the full duration of the exhibition.
- open 8:00am Monday 1 June 2026
- close midnight Friday 11 September 2026
- must be submitted through the online form
- artists requiring help with their online entry should contact the Bas team
- entries are unlimited however only one work per artist can be selected as a finalist
- each entry must be submitted separately
- an entry fee of $50 per entry to the Bas, is required to enter
- an artwork statement about your work is optional (under 50 words)
- Finalist artists will be asked to supply details about their work and practice.
- artists must submit one jpeg image per artwork. Digital images will be for viewing and selection by the judges. Entrants are advised to submit a quality image showing the entire artwork.
- artwork images must be a fair representation of the work. Artworks that vary substantially from the submitted image may not be included in the finalist exhibition.
- images must be labelled: artist_name_title_of_work_year
- Example: john_smith_artwork_title_2023
- Eurobodalla Shire Council reserves the right to reject any artwork deemed unfit to exhibit
- all entrants retain the copyright of their works
- Eurobodalla Shire Council is permitted, on a non-exclusive basis, to reproduce finalist works, in whole or in detail, by print or electronic media for the purposes of advertising, promotion and documentation of the Basil Sellers Art Prize. Finalists grant this licence for three years. Winners will grant this license to Eurobodalla Shire Council in perpetuity.
- ESC will attribute the artist when exhibiting or reproducing their artwork.
- The $50,000 acquisitive prize winner will be chosen from all entrants into the Basil Sellers Art Prize. This prize-winner is ineligible for the $5,000 Eurobodalla Prize.
- The $5000 acquisitive Eurobodalla Art Prize winner will be chosen from Eurobodalla entrants.
- Judging will take place in two stages:
- selection of the finalists from the submitted digital images, and
- selection of the winners from the hung exhibition.
- All entries will be reviewed for finalist selection by a panel consisting of a Basil Sellers representative and appropriately qualified Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre staff.
- The selection of the winners will be made by highly respected multidisciplinary artist, Janet Laurence.
- All entrants will be notified by email of their status after the first stage of judging on Friday 16 October 2026.
- The Basil Sellers Art Prize winning entry is acquisitive and will be placed in Mr Sellers’ private collection. The $50,000 prize will constitute the full price of the winning entry.
- The Eurobodalla Award winning entry is acquisitive and will be placed in the Eurobodalla Shire Council's art collection. The winning artist will receive $5,000.
- The People’s Choice Award winner will receive $500.
- All entries will be judged on the merit of the work. The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence regarding their decision will be entered into.
It is the entrant's responsibility to obtain consent from any individuals depicted in their submitted works. If the subject is a minor or lacks legal capacity, consent must be obtained from their parent, legal guardian or representative. This consent allows Eurobodalla Shire Council to use the images for two specific purposes:
- inclusion in this exhibition
- activities related to the exhibition.
- All finalist artists will enter into an artist agreement with the Bas.
- Artwork transportation assistance is available and will be coordinated with the selected artists.
- A framing subsidy of $100 is available for finalists. Artists should retain their framing receipt to claim it.
- The Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre will insure the artwork while in its possession and control, up until collection by artist or buyer.
- Artwork must be clearly labelled on the back with Artist Name, Title, Address, Phone number.
- Any artist represented by a gallery has the responsibility to notify that gallery of participation in this prize and remove the artwork from their sale catalogue. The entrant acknowledges that any commission arrangement with their gallery is separate from the commission retained by the Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre.
- Winners of the Eurobodalla Award and the major prize will be announced at the opening of the exhibition on Friday 4 December, 2026
- Winning artists must make themselves available for media interviews.
- Public programs will be arranged with specific artists.
- An artist profile of the major winner and the Eurobodalla Award winner will be included on the Bas website
- Commission on sales will be 30% inclusive of GST.
- The People’s Choice Award will be announced after the conclusion of the exhibition.
- The Bas will coordinate with artists regarding return of unsold work in the week following the exhibition close as per the dates laid out in the artist agreement.
- Call for entries opens: Monday 1 June 2026
- Call for entries closes: midnight Friday 11 September 2026
- Finalists announced: Friday 16 October 2026
- Opening and winners' announcement: Friday 4 December 2026
- Exhibition: Saturday 5 December 2026 to Saturday 30 January 2027