Exhibitions

Australian Life

Related to Art & About Sydney
Installed 14 September 2017
Public artArt and AboutTemporary art
People view large outdoor photo displays in a public square, with city buildings and historic architecture in the background.

A nationwide photography competition and exhibition open to professionals and amateurs each year.

Artwork description

Australian Life is one of the country’s biggest and most democratic photography prizes.

For more than 20 years, amateur and professional photographers have shared images encapsulating Australia’s unique personality. From the epic to the intimate, the harsh to the fragile, these photos capture a moment of Australian Life.

The work of this year’s finalists will be displayed in an outdoor exhibition in Sydney Square. The finalists and winners are chosen by a panel of professional photographers, artists and curators, and take home prizes worth up to $10,000. There's also a People’s Choice Award presented, based on votes from viewers during the exhibition.

Australian Life 2026

See this year’s 20 finalist photos in an outdoor gallery between Friday 25 September to Sunday 11 October. You’ll find it in Sydney Square between Sydney Town Hall and St Andrew’s Cathedral.

Vote for your favourite photo for the People’s Choice Award by Monday 5 October. The photographer who receives the most votes will receive an OM System professional camera pack valued at $5,298.

View the Australian Life 2026 finalists.

Australian Life 2025 winners

  • Grand prize winner, over 18 category: Riley Swanson on the Roma Southern Road by Carly Earl.
  • Grand prize winner, under 18 category: February Boat Carnival by Callum Poling.
  • People’s Choice Award: Two Ends of an Alley by Christopher Wang.
Two men in wide-brimmed hats stand by a lorry on a rural road at sunset, with cattle and another lorry visible in the distance.
Black and white photo of a crowded beach with people, surfboats lined up along the shore, and some swimmers walking out of the water.

Australian Life 2024

  • Grand prize winner, over 18 category: Penalty Shootout by Hank Paul.
  • Grand prize winner, under 18 category: Sumtya by Amalia Tawa.
  • People’s Choice Award: Victorian Vampires by Chrissie Hall.
A black and white image of a small crowd of people in formal clothes gathered around a mobile phone at a wedding reception, with expressions of shock and excitement on their faces.
A mother and two young children dressed in matching black and red vampire costumes in the dark interior of a house. A chess set, taxidermy animals, and a mirror in a gilded frame are all in the background.

Australian Life archives

Explore the Australian Life competition and exhibition in years past.

Partners

The Australian Life photography competition is sponsored by OM SYSTEM.

Three children in a lounge; one holds a "Sibling love" sign whilst the other two playfully wrestle and pull funny faces.

Exhibitions

Little Sydney Lives

Photography competition and exhibition for budding image-makers aged 5 to 12 years.
Sydney

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