Sydney's Art & About photography competition is now open for entries

Art & About
(Image credit: Simon Cowling / City of Sydney)

After the coronavirus pandemic paused Sydney's annual Art & About festival in 2020, the event is back this year, with the prestigious photography competition now open for entries.

Whether you're an amateur, hobbyist or a professional photographer, the City of Sydney is inviting all Aussie citizens and permanent residents to submit their best images that capture 'Australian life'. Images can range from the epic (bushfires, perhaps) to the simple (home life), with up to two entries per person allowed. Entering submissions for the competition is free.

This annual photography competition has a cash prize of AU$10,000, with the 28 finalist images being displayed along the St James walkway of Sydney's Hyde Park. These will be picked by a panel of judges that include National Geographic photographer Michaela Skovranova and Magnum Photo Agency member Trent Parke.

For the first time, there will be a People's Choice Award as well, and everyone is invited to vote for their favourite piece during the exhibition. The winner of the People's Choice Award will win a professional camera package from Olympus worth AU$5,000.

Submission of entries closes at midnight on Tuesday, 25 May 2021, with winners being announced on 16 September 2021, when the exhibition will go on show. Voting for the People's Choice Award will commence on 17 September, ending at 5pm AEST on 5 October. The winner of this award will be announced on 8 October 2021.

If you'd like to enter, head to the Art & About website for more information, including the specifications of the images you can submit.

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Sharmishta Sarkar
Managing Editor (APAC)

In addition to looking after they day-to-day functioning of Digital Camera World in Australia, Sharmishta is the Managing Editor (APAC) for TechRadar as well, and helps produce two of Future's photography print magazines Down Under. Her passion for photography started when she was wandering the wilds of India studying monkeys (yes, life took a sharp turn somewhere along the way) and is entirely self-taught. That puts her in the unique position of understanding what a beginner or enthusiast is looking for in a camera or lens, and writes to help those like her on their path to developing their skills or finding the best gear. While she experiments with quite a few genres of photography, her main area of interest is nature photography – wildlife, landscapes and macro. She still prefers an optical viewfinder but is utterly fascinated with what mirrorless technology has been able to achieve. 


With an ear to the ground in the Asia-Pacific territory, she is constantly on top of camera news and breaking developments in the Australian region, in addition to sourcing local deals during big retail events like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday / Cyber Monday. 


She’s also a skilled stargazer, always eager to share astrophotography tips such as photographing the blood moon without even using a tripod!