Wollongong Art Gallery Student Photography Prize 2026 Terms & Conditions
The following terms and conditions apply to the Wollongong Art Gallery Student Photography Prize 2026 (‘the Competition’).
By entering the Competition, you are deemed to have read and be bound by these Terms and Conditions.
Who can enter?
1. The Competition is open to students currently studying in New South Wales (NSW).
2. Entry is free.
3. Entrants must enter in the category that corresponds with their current school year level:
- Years 7 and 8
- Years 9 and 10
- Years 11 and 12
Who cannot enter?
4. Wollongong City Council and Wollongong Art Gallery employees and their immediate family and/or household members are not eligible to enter the Competition. "Immediate family" means spouse (including de facto), child, parent and sibling (and includes "step" variations of the same).
How to enter
5. Entrants may submit a maximum of two (2) photographs.
6. Entries must be submitted by 5.00pm on Friday 25 September 2026 ("Submission Period").
7. Entries may be digital or analogue photographs. Analogue photographs must be submitted as scanned JPEG or PNG files.
8. Any entry that is incomplete, incorrectly submitted, exceeds the maximum number of entries, or is received after the Submission Period will not be accepted.
9. Wollongong Art Gallery will not be responsible for any lost, damaged or delayed entries.
Photographs
10. Each photograph You enter in the Competition must:
- be the original work of the entrant;
- have been captured by the entrant using a camera or phone;
- be a single-capture photograph;
- be 100% photographic in nature; and
- comply with these Terms and Conditions.
11. Basic editing adjustments are permitted, including:
- cropping;
- exposure adjustments;
- colour correction; and
- other standard photographic enhancements.
12. Entrants may crop elements from a photograph, however elements must not be removed using cloning, content-aware fill or similar editing techniques.
13. Entrants must not:
- add elements, textures, objects or imagery to a photograph;
- create composites from multiple images;
- use or include any synthetic or artificially generated imagery or content;
- use generative artificial intelligence tools in the creation, editing or enhancement of their photographs;
- submit photographs that have been plagiarised or copied from another person; or
- include watermarks on submitted photographs.
14. Entrants agree that their name may be published by Wollongong Art Gallery and Wollongong City Council in connection with the Competition and their photograph(s).
Judging
15. Entries will be judged by:
- Daniel Mudie Cunningham, Gallery Director, Wollongong Art Gallery; and
- Julie Danilov, Education Officer, Wollongong Art Gallery.
16. Entries will be judged within the following categories:
- Years 7 and 8
- Years 9 and 10
- Years 11 and 12
17. Judges will assess entries based on criteria including:
- creativity and originality;
- technical quality;
- photographic composition;
- artistic merit; and
- overall impact.
18. Entries that, in Wollongong Art Gallery's sole opinion, breach these Terms and Conditions may be disqualified.
Winners and Prizes
19. Winners will be announced on Friday 16 October 2026 via the Wollongong Art Gallery website and social media channels.
20. Prizes will be awarded in the following age categories:
| Category | Prize for 1st place | Prize for 2nd place | Prize for 3rd place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years 7 & 8 | $100 | $50 | $25 |
| Years 9 & 10 | $150 | $75 | $35 |
| Years 11 & 12 | $200 | $100 | $50 |
21. Wollongong Art Gallery reserves the right not to award a prize if, in the opinion of the judges, the entries do not meet the required standard.
22. Winners may be required to verify their identity, school enrolment status and eligibility to enter the Competition before a prize is awarded.
23. Wollongong Art Gallery accepts no responsibility for any loss, theft or damage to prizes once awarded.
Use of Winning and Finalist Images
24. Winning photographs will be included in the Competition finalist compilation video produced by Wollongong Art Gallery.
25. Winning photographs may be published on the Wollongong Art Gallery YouTube channel, website, social media channels and other promotional materials associated with the Competition.
26. Finalist and winning photographs may be displayed, reproduced or published by Wollongong City Council and Wollongong Art Gallery for exhibition, educational, promotional and archival purposes.
Intellectual Property
- the submitted photographs are their original work;
- they own all necessary intellectual property rights in the photographs; and
- the photographs do not infringe the copyright, privacy or other rights of any third party.
28. Entrants agree to indemnify and hold harmless Wollongong Art Gallery against any loss, claim, liability or damage arising from a breach of the warranties contained in these Terms and Conditions.
29. Entrants retain copyright in their photographs.
30. By entering the Competition, entrants grant Wollongong City Council and Wollongong Art Gallery a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to reproduce, publish, display and communicate the photographs for non-commercial purposes including: educational programs, marketing and promotional activities, websites, social media, finalist compliation video, and archival records.
General
31. Wollongong Art Gallery may cancel, modify, suspend or vary the Competition at any time.
32. Wollongong Art Gallery will not be liable for any loss, cost, expense or damage incurred by any person arising from the cancellation, variation or administration of the Competition.
33. Any decision made by the judges or Wollongong Art Galleryin relation to any aspect of the Competition is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the outcome.
Privacy Notice
- Purpose of collection: Wollongong Art Gallery will collect the personal information of individuals who enter the Competition in order to be able to contact the winning entrants.
- Intended recipients: Wollongong Art Gallery staff.
- Supply: While the supply of personal information is voluntary, the information provided will enable your participation in the Competition.
- Access / Correction: Your personal information may be accessed by you and Wollongong Art Gallery. A request to access, update or correct any information should be directed to Wollongong City Council.
- Storage: The personal information collected will be stored by Wollongong Art Gallery for the purposes indicated above. Personal information may be disclosed by Council if required to do so by law.