A notable event on the Inner West arts and culture calendar, the GreenWay Art Prize celebrates the qualities of the Goolay’yari (Cooks River) to Iron Cove GreenWay – a precious 5.8km urban environmental and sustainable transport corridor in Sydney’s Inner West.
The Art Prize was established in 2010 to capture the essence of the GreenWay through visual art and to celebrate the vibrancy, creativity, and community spirit of the Inner West. The Art Prize offers a total of $15,000 across six awards, celebrating creativity in all forms, and is open to young people and adults. There is no entry fee to apply for the non-acquisitive GreenWay Art Prize (GWAP).
GreenWay Art Prize 2025 Exhibition
Shortlisted artworks will be on display at Chrissie Cotter Gallery from 7-13 December at the times below:
- Opening Event & Winners Announcement (invite only): Saturday 6 December, 2-4pm
- Sunday 7 December, 11am-4pm
- Wednesday 10 December - Saturday 13 December, 11am - 4pm
Announcement of Winners
GreenWay Art Prize First Place - Paul Angus
It was like this when I got here (detail)
Painting (Oil) 44.5cm x 55.5cm
GreenWay Art Prize Second Place - Noorinder Bhattal
Flow (detail)
Painting (Acrylics on canvas)
30cm x 40cm
GreenWay Art Prize Highly Commended - Einar Johansen
Layer 'Pon Layer 'Pon Layer (detail)
2-Dimensional mixed media works (Mixed media on recycled kraft card)
59cm x 46.5cm
GreenWay Art Prize Cooks River Small Sculpture Prize - Nicole de Mestre
What the River Knows (detail)
Sculpture (Recycled and found materials-textiles, metal, wood, feathers, shells, seeds)
20cm x 20cm x 30cm
GreenWay Art Prize Youth Prize (12 - 15) - Nora Sosa
Dot Pot (detail)
Sculpture (Clay and glaze)
12cm x 12cm x 12cm
GreenWay Art Prize Youth Prize (16 - 18) - Oscar Lin
Within The Dream Of Turpentine and Ironbark
Painting (Mixed media - acrylic paint, acrylic marker, paper on paperbark)
50cm x 33cm, 400g
Shortlisted artists - GreenWay Art Prize 2025
| Almendra Trevino Ambra Sancin An Sheng Andrew Miers Angela Robertson-Buchanan Anna Cho Anna Seymour Aqua Robins Austin Zhang Carolynne Gordon David Longfield Debbie Bourke Einar Johansen Eman Nasr Fangmin Wu Gabi Yum Gene Kelaher Glenn Locklee Hoysie Hoy Ian Liu Jaime Laird Jasper Newsham Jonathan Nolan Jessika Steiner | Julia Gascoine Julie Gianotis Kassandra Bossell Kosta Dimitropoulos Maja Gajić Mandy Lamkin Maryellen van der Vegt Nicole de Mestre Noorinder Bhattal Nora Sosa Oscar Lin Patricia Ward Paul Angus Sally McCausland Silda Trainor Simon Kaiyu Li Theresa Lei Tom Gray Vicki Bosworth Wan Feng Ooi Wendy Wei Xavier Atkinson Yang Qiu Zoe Sernack |
Application process 2025
GreenWay Art prize applications for entries were open Monday 15 September 2025 (9am) and closed, Monday 3 November 2025 (3pm)
Below is a timeline for the GreenWay Art prize (GWAP) applications
GWAP opens via smartygrants | 9am, Monday 15 September 2025 |
GWAP closes | 3pm, Monday 3 November 2025 |
GWAP entries shortlisted | Mid November 2025 |
GWAP shortlisted artists notified | 28 November 2025 |
GWAP entries judged by assessors | November/December 2025 |
GWAP entries dropped to Chrissie Cotter Gallery (CCG) | 8am – 6pm, Wednesday 3 December & Thursday 4 December 2025 |
GWAP Opening (invitation only) at CCG & GWAP winners announced | 2pm - 4pm, Saturday 6 December 2025 |
Shortlisted entrants and artworks listed on Council’s website | Saturday 6 December 2025 |
GWAP exhibition | Saturday 6 – Saturday 13 December 2025 (Gallery hours are 11am - 4pm) |
GWAP winners announced on Council’s Social Media | Between Saturday 6 – Sunday 7 December 2025 |
Invoices from winning entries/artists to be sent to Council | By 5pm, Monday 15 December 2025 |
Artworks collected from CCG | By 5pm Sunday 14 December 2025 |
- This is a national prize, open to all artists submitting work within the terms of the prize – see Appendix in the Guidelines available below.
- Applicants under 18 must provide written approval from their legal guardian to take part in the prize.
Applications must
- be submitted as a photographic representation online via smartygrants
- provide a written artist statement responding to a theme of the GWAP that describes your work
- provide an original non AI-generated work produced in the last year
- include a high-quality landscape photo (1,500 x 1,000 pixels) of the artwork you are submitting (please ensure it has 300ppi resolution) photographed with a white background and using good lighting (applications with poor quality samples of work may not be considered) – file size should not exceed 2MB per photo
- include a description of the materials used in the artwork as well as its dimensions
- submit only one entry to the GWAP
- provide social media accounts to enable tagging of artists on Instagram in the event of the entrant being awarded a Prize.
Themes
Art Prize entries should reflect one or more GreenWay themes, including the local environment, urban ecology, waterways, and sustainability. With exciting new in-corridor upgrades underway, applicants are invited to celebrate and reimagine this vital green space—drawing on personal experiences of the GreenWay to explore how it connects people and nature across time.
Entrants are asked to address one or more GWAP theme in the artist statement included in their application. More information about the GreenWay can be found on Council’s website.
Prize | Criteria | Value |
|---|---|---|
1st place GreenWay Art Prize | Ages 18+, all artforms
| $6,500 |
2nd place GreenWay Art Prize | Ages 18+, all artforms
| $3,000 |
Highly Commended GreenWay Art Prize | Ages 18+, all artforms
| $1,500 |
Cooks River Small Sculpture Prize | Ages 18+, sculpture
| $3,000 |
Youth Prize (ages 12-15) | All artforms | $500 |
Youth Prize (ages 16-18) | All artforms | $500 |
Total Prize money |
| $15,000 |
Artform | Requirement |
|---|---|
Photography | Maximum 100cm x 100cm |
Painting | Maximum 100cm x 100cm |
Sculpture | Maximum 20cm w x 30cm h, 20cm d, 20Kg |
2-Dimensional mixed media works (watercolour, drawing, collage, printmaking, mosaic on board, fabrics) | Maximum 100cm x 100cm, weight 10Kg All 2-dimensional hangable works accepted |
Entries will be assessed online and shortlisted. A shortlist will then be asked to deliver their work in person to be judged by an independent panel including one artist, one visual arts industry professional, and a GreenWay Forum representative. Approximately 30 works across all artforms and award categories will be displayed at Chrissie Cotter Gallery, 6 - 13 December 2025. Prizes will be awarded from this pool of works. Winners must invoice Council for the awarded sum (including GST for winners who are eligible for GST) by 15 December 2025.
Shortlisted artists’ works:
- must be dropped to Chrissie Cotter Gallery (CCG), 3 - 4 December, between 8am – 6pm
- will be displayed at CCG from 6 to 13 December
- that are 2-dimensional must be framed, tagged with artist name, contact number and artwork title, and ready for hanging (i.e. with a suitable cord or wire attached between two D-rings on the back of the artwork)
- that are sculptures must have a flat/stable bottom and be clearly tagged with artist name, contact number and artwork title.
Shortlisted artists are asked to attend the opening, 6 December, 2pm - 4pm, where winners will be announced. Prize winners and their artworks will also be announced on Council’s social media during the exhibition period.
For enquiries or to discuss your proposal please contact:
Raffaela Cavadini – Creative Producer
raffaela.cavadini@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
Tel: 02 9335 2293
Or
Dana Santos – Administration Assistant, Creative Communities
dana.santos@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
Tel: 02 9392 5616
Support and Accessibility
Please get in touch to discuss any access needs you have about the GWAP. Council is committed to showcasing diverse voices from our community and welcome those who may need access regarding disability, language barriers, and navigating application processes.
Winners of the prize will be announced on Saturday 6 December at the Chrissie Cotter Gallery (invitation only), with the launch happening from 2pm - 4pm. Shortlisted artists’ works will be on display at the Gallery from 6 – 13 December, 11am – 4pm.