Napier Waller Art Prize

The Napier Waller Art Prize is open to all current and former service personnel in the Australian Defence Force. The prize encourages artistic excellence, promotes the transformative power of creativity, and raises awareness of the experiences and talent of service personnel.

Applications for the 2026 Napier Waller Art Prize open on Friday, 26 September 2025. Applications close 11.59 pm (AEDT) Sunday 1 February 2026.

Winner Prize: $15,000

People's Choice Award: $5,000

The 2026 Napier Waller Art Prize is now open for entries

Find out how to enter

Established in 2018, the Napier Waller Art Prize is named after Mervyn Napier Waller, an Australian artist who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in August 1915. In May 1917, he was wounded in the right arm while serving with the 11th Field Artillery Brigade during the battle at Bullecourt. His arm was later amputated, and during his convalescence he learned to write and draw with his left hand, saying, “an artist draws with his head, not his hands”. In 1937, Waller was chosen to create the mosaics and stained glass windows in the Australian War Memorial’s Hall of Memory.

Learn more about the Napier Waller Art Prize
Open Information

Serving personnel and veterans are invited to enter an original artwork accompanied by an artist statement. Entries using diverse artistic media and original concepts are encouraged. From these entries, a group of shortlisted works are identified, which are later displayed on the Memorial’s website.

Those entries are judged by a panel of art experts and professionals, who make a selection of Highly Commended works of art, which are displayed at the Memorial. From this group a winning artwork is selected on merit.

The winning work is accessioned into the collection of the Australian War Memorial, with the winning artist receiving a $15,000 cash prize. The shortlisted works of art are displayed on the Australian War Memorial’s website for the public to vote for the People’s Choice award, the winner of which will receive $5,000.

The judging panel for the 2024 Napier Waller Art Prize consisted of Matt Anderson, PSM, Director, Australian War Memorial; General Angus Campbell AO, DSC, Chief of the Australian Defence Force; Bree Pickering, Director, National Portrait Gallery; Penelope Grist OAM, Director, Art Collections, Australian Parliament House; eX de Medici, former Official War Artist; Laura Webster, Head of Art, Australian War Memorial.