Entries open for Deaf Children Australia’s Annual Art Competition (Australia)

Theme

• “I can”
  • This year’s theme encourages young people to celebrate their unique skills.

Categories

• Individual Artists
  • They accept art submissions in the following categories:
    • 8 to 11 years
    • 12 to 17 years
    • 18 to 23 years
• Early Education Group Projects
  • The Early Education Group Project is a new category introduced this year to invite group submissions and collaborations between younger deaf and hard of hearing artists who attend Early Intervention. Kindergarten or Primary School.

Funding Information

• 2025 Winner Prizes:
  • 8 To 11 Years – $500
  • 12 To 17 Year-$700
  • 18 To 23 Years-$1000
• Early Education Group Project – $800
  • 2025 Runner Up Prizes:
    • 8 To 11 Years – $250
    • 12 To 17 Year-$300
    • 18 To 23 Years – $500
• Early Education Group Project – $450

Eligibility Criteria

• Only Australian Permanent Residents and/or Australian Citizens can apply to the Art Competition.
• Applicants age is classified by how old they are on 27th May 2025, when submissions to this competition close.
• Individual Artist Categories (8 to 11, 12 to 17, 18 to 23 years)
  • Deaf or hard of hearing young people aged 8 to 23 years old.
  • Artists need to provide proof of age when submitting the application. Please include a copy of one of the following documents with the application: a birth certificate,
  • Australian passport, or Australian drivers licence. Applications without proof of age will not be accepted.
  • Applicants need to include a current audiogram – no more than 2 years old – when submitting the application. If you do not have a current audiogram, they will also accept an official letter from a cochlear clinic, an ENT, or a GP.
  • Applications without medical proof of permanent hearing loss will not be accepted.
• Early Education Group Projects (0 to 11 years)
  • A group of 2 or more deaf or hard of hearing artists aged 0 to 11 from the same school/kindergarten.
  • The school/kindergarten is required to send a formal letter with the students’ names, DOB’s and to confirm all students are deaf and/or have hearing loss.

Application Requirements

• Physical artwork:
  • All 2D/artworks on paper will be framed and exhibited. Please send them your original artworks. If you do not wish to submit the original, they require a high quality printed version of the work.
  • Please send any 3D sculptures or books with adequate padding and protection. Books or graphic novels can also be submitted as a high quality PDF files.
• Video Art:
  • Submissions of video art should be sent to them in MP4 format via email or WeTransfer, see more details on page 5. Video art submissions can be up to 5 minutes in length, with a max resolution of 3200 x 3200 pixels, and a max file size of 300MB. All videos must have captioning.
  • They will display your video on a screen in the gallery space, and use a still or title page from the video for printed and online promotional material. If you have a strong preference which still images they use, please email your suggestions as TIFF or JPEGs.
• Artwork size:
  • They have frames suitable for A4, A3, A2 and A1 artworks. Artwork can be portrait or landscape, or custom shapes and sizes, but if your artwork is a not A4, A3, A2 or A1, they ask you supply your artwork framed in a good quality black frame.
  • They suggest a minimum of A4 size, but for your art to have presence on the gallery wall, they find A3 is a good starting point. The maximum artwork size they accept for individual artists is A1.

For more information, visit Deaf Children Australia.