National Photography Prize 2024

Every two years the National Photography Prize offers an opportunity to consider the vital role of photography in contemporary art in Australia. The National Photography Prize brings together artists from across Australia who are developing and challenging photographic language and techniques.

Generously supported by the MAMA Art Foundation, the National Photography Prize offers a $30,000 acquisitive prize, the $5000 John and Margaret Baker Fellowship for an emerging practitioner, and further supports a number of artists through focused acquisitions.

The Prize provides a forum for artists working with photography to present cohesive selections of work, or works in series, offering a depth of critical reflection that recognises the complexities and nuances of the history of the photograph and its contemporary manifestation.

In consideration of the medium's fluid history, the National Photography Prize encourages artists working across all areas of the photographic field to enter. This includes artists working in traditional forms of light based, chemical production through to those dealing with hybrid and expanded fields of photography and image making.

The 2024 National Photography Prize finalists include leading Australian artists and collectives Alex Walker & Daniel O’Toole, Ali McCann, Ali Tahayori, Ellen Dahl, Ioulia Panoutsopoulos, Izabela Pluta, Kai Wasikowski, Nathan Beard, Olga Svyatova, Rebecca McCauley & Aaron Claringbold, Sammy Hawker, and Skye Wagner.

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April

Canberra: 27 Feb until 20 July 2025. The National Library has invited renowned Australian photojournalist Mike Bowers to select some of his favourite images from the Fairfax Photo Archive.

Brisbane: Until 13 July 2025. Amateur Brisbane photographer Alfred Henrie Elliott (1870-1954) extraordinary images lay dormant for decades until they were discovered only recently. This exhibition is curated by seven Brisbane photographers.

Sydney: Until 31 Dec 2025. PIX, Australia’s first pictorial news weekly, is brought to life in this exhibition, showcasing its archived images and stories for the very first time.

Sydney: Until 30 June. The photographs in Max Dupain: Student Life were taken at the University of Sydney in the early 1950s, a period of rapid change marked by the politics of the Cold War.

May

Sydney: 15 May – 19 October. Showcasing 100 incredible images, this remarkable exhibition offers a window into the astonishing variety of life on our planet – and the critical importance of preserving it.

Perth: From 31 May – 28 Sept 2025. Featuring 85 works from three major series – Deep Springs, Overpass, and Cross Country – the exhibition spans twelve years of Contis’s evolving photographic practice.

June

Sydney: Until 6 July. Presenting the results of the 2025 World Press Photo Contest, the annual exhibition showcases the best and most important photojournalism and documentary photography of the last year.

Melbourne: June 5 - 16 August 2025. The explore the history of Alan Adler's photobooths and their cultural significance, alongside visual stories told by the community.

Adelaide: 7 June – 16 August. Drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection, this photographic exhibition captures the experience of lives lived through dance.

Melbourne: 7 June – 31 August. Protest is a Creative Act seeks to address issues around the body, sexuality, race, national identity and the environment.