2025

The 2025 awards have now concluded. Check this page for 2026 dates.

About the awards

Open to ages 12-24.

Categories: Writing, art and film.

Prizes: Cash, inclusion in the Writers' Anthology (writing), public exhibition (art) and film screening awards night (film).

Painting by Salão Ferreira

2025 Young Creatives Awards Winners

Congratulations to all of our shortlisted entrants and thank you to everyone who entered.

 

Art Award Winners

Writing Award Winners

Film Awards Winners

 

About the Competition

The Young Creatives Awards are open to people aged 12 to 24 who live, work or study in the Inner West. Work can be submitted for the following categories:

  • Writing
  • Visual art
  • Film

Each category has three awards based on age: 12 to 15, 16 to 18, and 19 to 24.

Get your work seen

The awards are a chance to get your work seen with the finalist's works printed, performed and exhibited later in the year.  Previous finalists have been commissioned for Inner West Council marketing campaigns and led creative workshops showing how the Young Creatives Awards can be a springboard to a creative career.  

How to enter

Submissions are closed for 2025. Check back here in 2026.

2025 Competition

Prizes

  • The total prize pool for 2025 is $8250
    Winner of each age group and category: $500
    Runner up of each age group and category: $250.
    Librarians Choice for each category: $250
    People's Choice Award for each category: $250
  • Finalists' artwork in public exhibition at Chrissie Cotter Gallery.
  • Finalists' film screening for finalists and members of the public
  • Finalists' written works are collated into a book and kept in our library collection.
  • Content producer roles for Young Creatives Take Over festival program in 2026.

Conditions of entry

Choose an item in our library collection (digital, print, audio or DVD) and create your own work using this item as inspiration.  Search our collection here.

  • Writers: Submit a piece of writing which can be a short story, poetry, a fan fiction or a piece of prose that is 1000 words.
  • Artists: Submit a photo of an artwork which can be a painting, drawing, sculpture, textile piece or still digital work.
  • Filmmakers: Submit a MP4 file of a moving image digital work, animation, narrative film or music video between 2 and 7 minutes in duration.

Submit your entry using the correct link above. You can enter more than one work. 

Terms and Conditions (DOCX 56.2KB)

Terms and Conditions (PDF 230.6KB)

 

Previous winners

Previous winners of the Young Creatives Awards

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Page last updated: 09 Dec 2025