$50,000 National Photographic Portrait Prize now open for entries

1 November 2022

Entries are now open in one of the country’s richest prizes for portraiture. The National Photographic Portrait Prize offers the winner $30,000, plus $20,000 in camera gear from their imaging partner, Canon. Prizes are also awarded for Highly Commended entries as well as an Art Handlers' Award. Work by all the finalists will be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery from 17 June to 1 October 2023.

© Wayne Quilliam. Silent Strength, 2021. National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022 Winner. In its purest essence, the evolution of culture connects us to Mother Earth. She inhales and exhales with us, has a heartbeat, and sings songs for all to hear. My role as a storyteller continues to evolve and this capture is akin to a trickle of water merging into a small stream then into the ocean. This image of Eric Yunkaporta from Aurukun is Culture.
© Wayne Quilliam. Silent Strength, 2021. Winner, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022. In its purest essence, the evolution of culture connects us to Mother Earth. She inhales and exhales with us, has a heartbeat, and sings songs for all to hear. My role as a storyteller continues to evolve and this capture is akin to a trickle of water merging into a small stream then into the ocean. This image of Eric Yunkaporta from Aurukun is Culture.

The competition Prize promotes the best in contemporary photographic portraiture by both professional and aspiring Australian photographers.

© Adam Ferguson. Highly Commended, NPPP 2022. Carlos Soyos, 34, a migrant from Guatemala City, Guatemala and his son, Enderson Soyos, 8.
© Adam Ferguson. Highly Commended, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022. Carlos Soyos, 34, a migrant from Guatemala City, Guatemala and his son, Enderson Soyos, 8.

The 2022 National Photographic Portrait Prize was awarded to leading Indigenous curator/photographer Wayne Quilliam for his image, Silent Strength 2021, depicting Aurukun man Eric Yunkaporta in ceremonial head-wear. The Highly Commended Award went to Adam Ferguson for his portrait of Guatemalan migrant Carlos Soyos and his eight-year-old son Enderson, taken at the migrant shelter on the Mexican/United States border. The Art Handlers' Award was won by Adam Haddrick for his portrait, Cordy in the Clouds. Luther Cora took out the People's Choice award.

© Luther Cora. Flora and Fauna, Giara: White Cockatoo. People's Choice Award winner, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022.
© Luther Cora. Flora and Fauna, Giara: White Cockatoo. People's Choice winner, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022. "This photo was one of a series I shot in my loungeroom in a makeshift studio during a short COVID lockdown period. I decided to try and create a floral headdress with native flowers. This triggered me to think, are we Indigenous First Nations people still classed as Flora and Fauna? Do we still have policies or Government acts in place that we fall into or come under like our old people did?"

Entries close 31 January 2023.

For more information, head to https://www.portrait.gov.au/nppp.

© Adam Haddrick. Cordy in the Clouds.
© Adam Haddrick. Cordy in the Clouds. Art Handlers' Prize, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022. "I first saw 'Cordy' (which means 'Spirit of the Sunrise' in the traditional language of the Tjungundji people of far North Queensland) when he walked past me on my first day in Charters Towers. I was immediately mesmerised by his presence. Months later I had the chance to meet with him. He shared his story and told me of a visit to India for an archaeology conference where the locals greeted him as a holy man. I hadn't seen clouds in the sky for weeks but while taking his portrait they rolled in behind him as if on cue."

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