Celebrating abstract art that challenges perception and inspires imagination.
ABOUT POIMENA ART PRIZE
The Poimena Prize for Abstraction is a new national art prize dedicated exclusively to abstract practice. Established to recognise the significance and ongoing evolution of abstraction within contemporary art, the prize provides a platform for both emerging and established artists.
Presented at Poimena Gallery
Presented at Poimena Gallery, the prize invites artists from across Australia and New Zealand to submit two-dimensional works that engage with abstraction in its many forms; spanning painting, photography, printmaking, and expanded media. The finished work must not exceed 120cm in either length or width, inclusive of frame. Low-relief artworks, in which materials protrude from a flat background to a depth of no more than 15cm, are also eligible.
Prompt word
Each iteration of the prize is guided by a single thematic prompt word. For the inaugural prize, the word is SHIFT - an open conceptual point of departure encouraging artists to explore convergence, integration, and transformation through material, process, and spatial relationships. Rather than prescribing interpretation, the prompt is intended to generate diverse responses and stimulate dialogue around the possibilities of abstraction.
The Poimena Prize
The Poimena Prize is a non-acquisitive award, with $15,000 awarded to the winning artist. The recipient will be selected by a panel of respected artists, curators, and arts professionals.
The Aim
Through this initiative, the Poimena Prize for Abstraction aims to foster critical discussion around abstract art and its continued relevance in contemporary culture. By bringing together a diverse range of practices, the prize highlights the enduring capacity of abstraction to engage with the visual, the material, and the experiential dimensions of art.
While abstraction has been central to modern and contemporary art for over a century, there is currently no major prize in Australia devoted solely to this field. The Poimena Prize addresses this gap, creating a focused national forum for abstract art.
KEY DATES
Thursday 1 October 2026 – Entries open at 10am (AEST)
Friday 15 January 2027 – Entries close at 6pm (AEST)
Wednesday 3 February 2027 – Finalists notified by email
Wednesday 3 March 2027 – Deadline for selected work to be delivered to the gallery
Friday 12 March 2027 – Exhibition opens. Winner announced
Friday 9 April 2027 – Exhibition closes
Tuesday 27 or Wednesday 28 April 2027 – Unsold works to be collected
