Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf has announced the finalists for the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, Australia's most prestigious award for small-scale sculpture, now celebrating its 25th Anniversary.

Since the first exhibition was held in 2001, the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize has demonstrated the extraordinary breadth and complexity of contemporary sculpture. No single style, material or approach defines the Prize. Instead, the only constant has been a continuing search for quality, originality and artistic excellence.

Included in the 2026 exhibition are the superb works of 49 finalists, selected from 724 local and international entries. Each exhibiting sculptor provides extraordinary insight into the contemporary sculpture scene.

First Nations artist Tricia Singer has been announced as a finalist with her new work Peacock.

Peacock recalls a joyful family memory of encountering a peacock at Mataranka. Made from wire and rusty metal collected around Iwantja, its colours and forms draw upon local wildflowers on the artist's Country.

Basket-weaving techniques taught by Singer's mother and senior Tjanpi artist Maringka Burton transformed the flower shapes into a peacock.

Singer said she was grateful to be named as a finalist in the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize.

"I'm so grateful and excited that my Peacock is being displayed for people to see," Singer told National Indigenous Times.

"In my younger years I was inspired when learning from my mum and now I get to share and enjoy the work that I do.

"I'm so honoured to be a finalist and I would like to thank Tjanpi Desert Weavers for the workshops they do when visiting the communities so I can explore my sculpture weaving in different ways. Thank you."

The winning work, selected by this year's judges, will receive the $25,000 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize and join Woollahra Council's public art collection.

"The finalists selected by this year's judges come from across Australia and around the world, including the United States and Ireland, and represent both emerging and established artists at pivotal moments in their careers," said gallery director, Sep Pourbozorgi.

"Here, artists reveal the remarkable breadth of contemporary sculptural practice, with works in bronze, paper, glass and ceramics.

"Assemblage, often incorporating found objects and recycled materials, features prominently alongside 3D-printed and kinetic sculptures. Some works explore history, industry and the expressive potential of materials themselves, while others emerge from failed experiments, successful prototypes and the pursuit of new artistic directions. The result is an exhibition that captures the richness, originality and innovation of contemporary sculpture."

Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize judge Emily Sullivan, Assistant Curator of Contemporary International Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, remarked of the 2026 finalist works:

"It's been a pleasure and a privilege to judge the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize 2026. These works offer small, personal windows into the things that enthrall and affect us — the natural world, people, and the uncanny. That the sculptures vary so much — from assemblages of found and reclaimed objects to meticulously hewn forms — makes our job all the more enjoyable, and difficult!"

The 2026 judging panel also includes Beau Neilson, Arts Leader and Philanthropist, and Tim Silver, Artist and winner of the 2018 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize.

Speaking on the creative process behind her work, Singer said the project has been an ongoing process, collecting materials over time.

"I was travelling to Darwin with my family for my partner to attend a big meeting, on the way up we stayed at Mataranka, and I took the kids down to the water for a swim," she said.

"When we were walking back to the cabin the kids saw this peacock and were following it around so delighted. I was thinking about those memories of a special time.

"I've been collecting these materials - the wire and rusty metal around where I live in Iwantja, and was inspired by the colours and shapes of the local wildflowers on my Country.

"As I was making those flower shapes, I remembered the beautiful peacock at Mataranka and so this sculpture transformed into the peacock. I'm using the basket-weaving techniques my mum taught me, as well as the skills I learned from Maringka Burton, one of the senior Tjanpi artists in Iwantja. Palya."

Woollahra mayor Sarah Dixson commented on the importance of the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize and how it continues to profile talented artists.

"Over the past 25 years, the Prize has become Australia's pre-eminent award for small sculpture, and an internationally recognised showcase for creative excellence," she said.

"As we mark this significant milestone, we are thrilled by the enthusiastic response it continues to receive and excited to welcome visitors to the exhibition of finalists in October to celebrate with us and view the remarkable breadth of talent and innovation on display."

The total prize pool of $29,000 includes the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize ($25,000), Special Commendation Award ($2,000), Mayor's Award ($1,000), and the Viewers' Choice Award ($1,000).

The 2026 finalists will be on display at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf from the 2nd of October to the 29th of November 2026, with the winners announced on the 1st of October 2026.

The 2026 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize full list of finalists include, Anita Johnson, Annabel Lahz, Benjamin Jay Shand, BJ Kim, Billie Baker, Bryant Chitsey, Christian Atichian, Christopher Jewitt, Dean Stewart, Fiona J Schoer, Francheska Coenraads, Hamish Bassett, Harriet Schwarzrock, Jacob Davidson, Jesse Wakenshaw, Kat Shapiro Wood, Katarzyna Dudkiewicz, Katherine Castillo Alferez, Katherine Sankey, Kelly Fatseas, Kien Situ, Kieta Jackson, Liss Finney, Liz Bryan, Lois Basham, Lynda Draper, Madeleine Kelly, Mark Booth, Mark and Simi Eliott, Martin John Oldfield, Matthew de Moiser, Melanie Cobham, Monica Rani Rudhar, Nasim Nasr, Olivia Chin, Omi McCurdie, Robyn Campbell, Samantha Mackie, Sassy Park, Satu Bushell, Saxon Reynolds, Silke Raetze, Simon Chalmers, Thomas O'Hara, Tony Manning, Tony Tran, Tricia Singer, Valissa Butterworth, Wanita Lowe.

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