Maritime Art Prize & Exhibition 2020

The Mission to Seafarers Maritime Art Prize and Exhibition is an international competition that has been hosted at the heritage-listed Mission building in Melbourne’s Docklands for eighteen years. Returning once again in 2020, this year's exhibition will be held online due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Artists are invited to respond to the theme ‘The Relationship of Humanity to the Sea’. Last year the exhibition featured 90 finalists whose work was selected from over 250 entries and who came from as far afield as Germany, Spain, Bangladesh, Pakistan, USA and New Zealand.

Entrants compete for a share of $20,000 across five categories – Maritime Art Award, Best Traditional, Runner-Up, Emerging Artist and People’s Choice Award. Amongst the traditional beauty of oil paintings and watercolours of maritime subjects in the exhibition, artists have demonstrated a move to include more contemporary works in recent years.

The event is a major fundraising initiative of the Mission to Seafarers. Australia relies on shipping and seafarers to connect to the world and to bring goods to our homes for the economy to thrive, and for the health of our island nation. Mission to Seafarers provides welfare services to support the tireless work, isolation and hardships faced by those seafarers.

The generosity of our sponsors who provide the prize money and other in-kind contributions, and the artists who pay an entrance fee and a commission on all works that are sold, ensures the continued success and wide popularity of the Maritime Art Awards and Exhibition and in turn, supports those seafarers.