Terms & Conditions

1.Theme

  1. The Mandorla Art Award employs a thematic spiritual inspiration which changes with each exhibition. These inspirations are defined by quotations from the Bible and all participating artists are required to interpret these in their own way.
  2. Submissions for the 2024 Mandorla Art Award must clearly demonstrate a direct relationship to the theme. Submissions that do not meet this criteria will not be accepted into the Finalists Exhibition.
  3. The theme for the 2024 Mandorla Art Award is:

Refocus

Reference text:
“Let all that you do be done in love.” – 1 Corinthians 16:14 (NRSV)

2. Prizes

  1. The major prize for the 2024 Mandorla Art Award is a $30,000 acquisitive prize.
  2. The winning work will become part of the permanent collection of the Mandorla Centre for Inner Peace Inc, and is kept in trust at the New Norcia Museum and Art Gallery, WA.
  3. The $30,000 prize money includes Mandorla’s acquisition of the work.
  4. In addition to the major acquisitive award, there will be three non-acquisitive prizes:
    $5,000 Highly Commended Catholic Archdiocese Prize
    $5,000 Highly Commended Anglican Diocese Prize
    $2,000 People’s Choice Prize (provided by Benedictine Community)
  5. The 2024 Mandorla Art Award will also award the New Norcia Artist Residency Prize. This is a 1-month residency awarded to an artist to create new work at the New Norcia Museum and Art Gallery on the site of the New Norcia Benedictine Monastery. It includes a $10,000 fee towards all travel and residency costs, as well as accommodation, studio space and meals.  

3. Entry Requirements and Details

  1. Entry to The Mandorla Art Award is open to all Professional Artists resident in Australia, aged 18 years and over. Artists may be emerging or established, however, the definition of Professional for the purposes of this award is: an artist who has specialised training in the artistic field (not necessarily in academic institutions), is recognised as a professional by their peers (artists working in the same artistic field) and has a consistent exhibition history.
  2. Artists wishing to be considered for the New Norcia Artist Residency Prize must check the category box on the entry form at the time of entry. The winning artist will be required to undertake the 1 month residency in spring of 2025. Please see the website for selection process and residency information.
  3. Mandorla Art Award entry is limited to one artwork per person.
  4. Artworks can be in any visual art medium.
  5. Artworks must be executed during the 12 months leading up to the close of entries, commencing March 2023, and must be completed at the time of entry.
  6. Artworks must not have been previously publicly exhibited.
  7. Prints and other mediums created in editions are to be the AP (Artist’s Proof) or first of the edition, with the remaining editions not previously exhibited in any form and not to be on shown during the 2024 Mandorla Art Award. 
  8. Artworks must be for sale in the Mandorla Art Award exhibition.
  9. 2D artworks must be no larger than 150 x 150cm including the frame and must not exceed 15kg.
  10. 3D works must be no larger than 120 x 120 x 120cm and must not exceed 50kg.
  11. VR, video and other screen-based mediums can be any length. If specialised equipment is required the artist must provide this for the during of the exhibition.
  12. VR, video and other screen-based mediums cannot be publicly viewable in their entirety before or during the 2024 Mandorla Art Award exhibition.
  13. Multi-component pieces are only accepted where they constitute a single artwork and do not exceed the specified dimensions and weight when displayed.
  14. Artworks must be the original work of the artist and not infringe copyright.
  15. If AI technology is used to produce the artwork, this must be clearly stated in the artist statement and details provided.
  16. Failure to comply with any of the conditions of entry will deem the entry disqualified and refunds will not be offered.
  17. Entry is via the online Entry Form only and must be completed and submitted by 8pm AWST, Wednesday 13 March 2024. Entries received after the closing date and time will not be accepted.
  18. There is a non-refundable entry fee of $AU50 (including GST), which must be made online at the time of submission.
  19. The Artist Statement and Artist Biography will be used for publication purposes. Artists must finalise their statement and biography prior to submitting the entry to ensure the character limit is not exceeded and spelling and grammar are correct, as no late changes will be accepted.
  20. The Artist Statement and Artist Biography may be edited for length and consistency prior to publication. The Curator will provide the artist with edited text prior to publication if significant changes are required.

4.  Selection of Finalists and Prize Winners

  1. Acceptance into this Award is via a selection process only. The Selection & Judging Panel will comprise two contemporary visual arts specialists and one theologian.
  2. Acceptance into this Award is via a selection process only. The Selection & Judging Panel will comprise two contemporary visual arts specialists and one theologian.
  3. Selected Finalists’ artworks must be available for display at Holmes à Court Gallery from May 23 until June 17 2024 and then for three months beyond this date for the Mandorla Touring Exhibition.
  4. The selection of the New Norcia Artist Residency Award will be made by the Mandorla Art Award Committee.
  5. The Selection & Judging Panel will consider the artist’s approach to the theme and artistic excellence when making the selection of artworks to be included in the Finalists’ Exhibition and when awarding prizes.
  6. Selection and Prize judgement is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Lobbying the Curator, Panellists or representatives of the Mandorla Art Award will result in instant disqualification and preclude entry in future Awards.
  7. The winner will be advised by telephone immediately after judging takes place on Thursday 23 May 2024.

5.  Sale of Artworks

  1. If the artist is registered for GST, the selling price of the artwork must be GST inclusive.
  2. A commission of 40% will apply to artworks sold during the Mandorla Art Award. For artists represented by a commercial gallery, this commission will be divided equally between the representing gallery and the Mandorla Art Award.
  3. Artists will be notified in the event of a sale. On no account are artists to organise their own sales of work in the exhibition for the duration they are on show, including other editions of the same artwork.
  4. Artworks selected to tour with to local venues after the main 2024 Mandorla Art Award exhibition will be subject to the same conditions of sale. 

6. Ownership and Risk/Responsibilities

  1. The Artist retains ownership of the artwork until sold and paid in full.
  2. Mandorla will exercise all due care in the handling and protection of the artwork.
  3. Mandorla will not be held responsible for any loss or damage whatsoever or however caused to any work while in their custody.
  4. Each artist is responsible for acquiring their own insurance to cover the artwork during transportation and while on display in the exhibition.
  5. All freighting costs will be the responsibility of the artist, including return freight costs for unsold artworks.
  6. Unsold artworks must be collected by the artist or their agent at the closure of the exhibition as directed by the Curator. Artworks not collected will be stored for 10 days only. If not collected within this time, the artwork may be auctioned with the proceeds going to charity.

7. Touring Exhibition

  1. After the Finalists’ Exhibition at Holmes à Court Gallery, a selection of works will be chosen to be part of the Mandorla Art Award Touring Exhibition. The Touring Exhibition provides further exposure for the selected artists’ work for approximately three months to local venues connected to St John of God Health Care.
  2. All Finalists’ artworks are to be made available for the touring exhibition.
  3. Artists will be notified prior to collection day if their artwork has been selected to tour.
  4. Not all Finalists’ work will be able to be selected for the Touring Exhibition due to restrictions within the touring venues.
  5. At the conclusion of the Touring Exhibition, artworks will be transported to where they will be available for collection or freight arrangements made with the artist.

8. Publicity and Promotional Material

  1. Copyright statement: The Mandorla Art Award Committee respects the fact that artists always retain the copyright of the image of their own work. As an acquisitive award, the Mandorla Art Award winners are kept as an important collection of contemporary Christian art and are housed in the art gallery at the Benedictine Monastery of the Holy Trinity in New Norcia where all, or part of the collection, is housed and exhibited on a regular basis. As a condition of entry, artists accept the image of their work can be used by the Mandorla Art Award Committee and the New Norcia Museum & Art Gallery for publicity purposes and will always be appropriately acknowledged. Should the images be used for fundraising, the artist will be consulted and any resultant profit will be shared between the artist/s and the Committee at an agreed rate.
  2. Mandorla reserves the right to document, reproduce or otherwise use images of any artwork entered into the Art Awards for purposes associated with the Awards, without charge.
  3. Artists will be responsible for satisfying copyright requirements, should they have quoted or reproduced from any printed or other material.