Entries are now open for the 69th Blake Prize, one of Australia’s longest running art competitions.
They will close on November 15, finalists will be announced on January 30 next year, and the exhibition in Liverpool Powerhouse will run from March 21, 2026 until May 10.
The main prize is $35,000, while the acquisitive prize is $10,000 (work enters Liverpool City Council Art Collection).
The Next Generation Scholarship is worth $5,000 (new prize, including mentorship and debut exhibition 2027–28), the Poetry Prize is $5,000, while the winner of the People’s Choice category will take away $2000.
The Blake Prize is a biennial exhibition that highlights local and international artists who explore ideas of spirituality and religion through contemporary artworks.
It has been challenging artists to explore spirituality and religion through their art since 1951.
Liverpool Powerhouse (formerly Casula Powerhouse) has been home to the prize since 2016.
Judged by an independent panel of artists, scholars, and critics, the Blake Prize continues to foster dialogue, empathy, and creative reflection across lines of culture and belief.
Deputy mayor Betty Green says the Blake Prize continues to resonate because of its courage in engaging with complex, deeply human themes:
“The Blake Prize makes us pause and reflect. It’s about exploring how we see the sacred in our lives, how we hold doubt and belief, and how art can make sense of those deeply human experiences.
“Liverpool is proud to be the home of such an important cultural event, especially in a community as diverse and spiritually rich as ours,” she said.
“It remains as relevant today as it was in 1951. In a time when public conversation often feels polarised, the Prize offers a rare space for reflection, empathy, and curiosity. It is an invitation to consider not just what divides us, but what connects us – our hopes, our doubts, our rituals, and our shared humanity.
“The Blake Prize opens space for dialogue. Even when works provoke strong reactions, they remind us that conversations about belief and meaning are vital.
“It remains one of the few national platforms where artists can openly explore the sacred, the spiritual, and the deeply personal, where audiences are invited to consider perspectives beyond their own,” Cr Green said.
Blake was established in 1951 by Jewish businessman Richard Morley, Catholic priest the Reverend Michael Scott, and lawyer Mary Tenison Woods.
It was created to move beyond sentimental religious art, inviting artists to grapple with deeper questions of belief.
The first winner was Justin O’Brien, The Virgin Enthroned (1951).
Recent Winners: 2016 – Yardena Kurulkar Kenosis, 2018 – Tina Havelock Stevens Giant Rock, 2021 – Leyla Stevens Kidung, 2022 – SJ Norman Cicatrix (All that was taken, all that remains), 2024 – Shireen Taweel Shoe Bathers.