First established in 2015 as the Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize, the name change is just one of the ways the prize has evolved. The Major Prize has increased to $25,000 from $15,000, and is no longer acquisitive, making it one of the most generous non-acquisitive painting prizes in the country.

The Local Art Prize has been renamed the Beckett Local Prize, in honour of remarkable local modernist Clarice Beckett. Now acquisitive, the prize money has increased to $10,000 from $3,000. The $1,000 People’s Choice Prize remains unchanged.

The Bayside Painting Prize remains a celebration of contemporary Australian painting. The finalist exhibition brings together a broad range of artists, both established and lesser known, whose varied approaches to the painted medium conveys the breadth and diversity of painting in Australia today.

The annual prize is an important opportunity for Bayside City Council to add exceptional works of art with a local connection to its collection and to promote art and artists as a valuable part of the Australian community.