Burnie Print Prize Exhibition 2025

The Burnie Print Prize presents the best works from established, emerging and cross-disciplinary artists. We welcome all artists living and working in Australia to enter a print or an artist’s book created utilising any printing process.

Offering a prize pool of $23,000 the winner will take home $17,000 cash, and an emerging artist $5,000, plus a $1000 people's choice award announced at the end of the exhibition period.

Supported by Arts Tasmania, Burnie City Council, Ten Days on the Island and Communion Brewing.

2025 Burnie Print Prize Winners

The 2025 Burnie Print Prize achieved a remarkable milestone, receiving a record-breaking 234 entries. This extraordinary response presented the judges with the challenging yet rewarding task of selecting a shortlist for this prestigious competition, featuring a combined prize pool of $23,000.

After careful deliberation, 76 works—representing approximately one-third of the total entries—were selected to feature in the 2025 Burnie Print Prize, to be proudly held at Burnie Arts.

Overall Winner: Lois Waters - Pleat 4
Emerging Artist: Alethea Richter - Filtered Light 2
Highly Commended: Michael Schlitz - the short weight

2025 Print Prize Artist Booklet

To every artist who submitted their work: thank you for sharing your creativity and vision with us. Your talent continues to inspire, and we’re so grateful for your contribution to making this year’s competition a resounding success.

2025 Burnie Print Prize Installation Images

Images by Grant Wells Photography

The Burnie Print Prize was established in 2007 to:

Develop the Gallery's print collection
Present the best of contemporary printmaking
Support artists who work with the print medium
Foster innovation in the print medium
Promote an appreciation of the fine art of printmaking
Recognize and celebrate craftsmanship
Explore possibilities of the medium in contemporary practice

Entries are open only to print medium artworks. This includes artworks created through techniques such as relief printing, intaglio printing, planographic printing, and stencil printing. Digital reproductions of print artworks are also eligible for submission, provided the original artwork was created using traditional printmaking methods.

Artworks created using other mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpture, digital art (excluding digital reproductions of print artworks), photography, and mixed media are not eligible for entry.

JUDGES - BURNIE PRINT PRIZE 2025

Raymond Arnold, Michael Edwards, Marnie Karmelita, Melissa Smith.

Meet the Judges

Michael Edwards

Michael Edwards has maintained active involvement with contemporary art in Tasmania for over four decades, in a variety of professional, educational, curatorial, editorial and administrative roles. Currently, Michael is the director of Contemporary Art Tasmania, sits on Contemporary Art Organisations of Australia, and the National Public Galleries Association.

Ray Arnold

Born in 1950, Raymond studied teaching and art in Victoria, developing his professional career in Tasmania. He currently lives in Queenstown! For ten years, he directed a regional art space with his partner, Helena Demczuk, known as WAS, or 'Western Art Space' (formerly 'LARQ'). Since 2021, Ray and Helen have also been principals in a new project, titled 'PressWEST', which is a community-based art facility with workshops, exhibitions and residencies.

Melissa Smith

Melissa is a Launceston-based artist who works primarily with print! She currently balances her art practice with her role at Arts Tasmania as a Roving Curator with the Cultural Heritage Program. Smith's work has been exhibited widely in Australia (in the NGA and Regional Galleries) and overseas!

Marnie Carmelita

Marnie is an international arts curator and producer, with 25 years' experience working in venues and festivals in Australia, the U.S and New Zealand! She is currently the Artistic Director at Ten Days on the Island. With a passion for working together with artists to nurture new works and stretch the boundaries of formance, she believes the arts are transformational and make an inordinate contribution to our society.