New National Art Prize Celebrates Abstraction

The Poimena Prize for Abstraction is a new $15,000 national art prize established to recognise and celebrate the significance and ongoing evolution of abstraction within contemporary Australian art.

Open to emerging and established artists from across Australia and New Zealand, the prize provides a dedicated platform for abstract practice. While abstraction has been central to modern and contemporary art for more than a century, there is currently no major national Australian art prize devoted exclusively to the field. The Poimena Prize seeks to address this gap by creating a focused national forum for abstract art.

Presented at Poimena Gallery, located at Launceston Church Grammar School's Senior Campus, the prize invites artists working across painting, photography, printmaking and expanded two-dimensional media. Approximately 30 finalists will be selected for exhibition, bringing together a diverse snapshot of contemporary abstract practice from around Australia and New Zealand.

Each edition of the Poimena Prize will be guided by a single thematic prompt word. For the inaugural prize, that word is SHIFT.

SHIFT offers an open point of departure, inviting artists to explore ideas of movement, transition, convergence and transformation through colour, material, process and spatial relationships. Rather than prescribing a particular interpretation, the prompt is designed to encourage diverse responses and open new conversations around the possibilities of abstraction.

The Poimena Prize for Abstraction is a non-acquisitive award, with $15,000 presented to the winning artist. The recipient will be selected by a panel of respected artists, curators and arts professionals, to be announced.

Through the prize, Poimena Gallery aims to foster greater discussion around abstraction and its continued relevance within contemporary culture. By bringing together artists working across different media, approaches and generations, the prize celebrates abstraction as a diverse and continually evolving field of contemporary practice.

The inaugural Poimena Prize for Abstraction is made possible through the generous support of Launceston Grammar, Madeline Gordon Gallery and Harrison Agents Launceston.

Further information and submission details are available at: https://www.poimenaartprize.com 

POIMENA PRIZE FOR ABSTRACTION 2027

Prize: $15,000, non-acquisitive
Prompt: SHIFT
Finalists: Approximately 30 artists
Venue: Poimena Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania
Eligibility: Artists from across Australia
Judges: To be announced

KEY DATES

Thursday 1 October 2026 - Entries open, 10.00 am (AEST)
Friday 15 January 2027 - Entries close, 6.00 pm (AEST)
Wednesday 3 February 2027 - Finalists notified by email
Wednesday 3 March 2027 - Deadline for selected works to be delivered to Poimena Gallery
Friday 12 March 2027 - Exhibition opens and winner announced
Friday 9 April 2027 - Exhibition closes