Submissions for 2025 Breaking Ground Award Are Now Open!

Country Arts SA is pleased to announce that submissions for the Breaking Ground Art Award is now open. Open to regional visual artists of all disciplines, the Award is open to submissions for artists at any stage of their career.

The Breaking Ground Award is open to artists every two years, offering them support to explore new areas of their art form. The recipient of the Award will work with a mentor of their choosing, using the mentor’s knowledge and expertise to support and guide them, pushing their practice into new and uncharted territory, building on their own current skills.

The Award includes a $10,000 sum for the artist, to support them over the course of their artistic development, wherein the recipient will produce a body of work for exhibition. In addition to the artists’ award, Country Arts SA also provides $5,000 to support their bespoke mentorship.

Along with the financial prize, the award winner will receive support from Country Arts SA to show their body of work in a solo exhibition at Praxis Artspace in metropolitan Adelaide , To fully realise their vision of the body of work Country Arts SA will provide curatorial support, installation costs, return freight, venue hire, production of a catalogue and marketing and promotion. Along with support from Country Arts SA, the exhibition will received premeium registrations in the 2025 SALA Festival and will form part of their annual program.

For many previous recipients of the Breaking Ground Award, it has been a launchpad for their artistic careers, giving them the support and time needed to establish themselves.

2022/23 winner Gail Hocking said ‘The supported year created time and resources through financial assistance and mentoring to deepen my research including extensive material experimentation which generated exciting developments.’ Going on to say ‘The encouragement and constructive critiques by Mentor Janet Laurence and Country Arts SA Visual Arts Manager Lauren Mustillo were of immense value in challenging the conceptual themes of a new body of work which strengthened and matured my practice.’

Since winning the award and exhibiting the works created from her time as recipient, Gail has gone on to explore her artistic practice further, securing an artistic residency in Iceland off the back of her work produced for Breaking Ground.

Submissions for Breaking Ground are now open for regional visual artists. Artists at all stages in their development and career are encouraged to apply.

For further information and to apply visit: https://www.countryarts.org.au/discover/visual-arts/breaking-ground/