The Eloquence Art Prize ® is an annual national public speaking challenge open to students from participating universities across Australia. It rewards the best art talk on French and Australian cultural ties. The theme is specific and different each year.

The 2025 theme is "Art and Environment, France and Australia: Our oceans in danger".  Students are invited to compare two artists from any Art discipline (visual art, literature, philosophy, architecture, music …) one Australian, one French, and analyse how their sensibility to nature has impacted their artworks (see here for a non-exhaustive list of artists). 

The Prize winner will be selected via a three-stage process:

• In Stage 1, applicants will submit to their University a "Summary Paper", outlining a proposed 10-minute talk addressing the Prize theme. At each University, a panel will review these and select three short-listed applicants. 
• In Stage 2, the short-listed applicants will be invited to submit a recording of their complete 10-minute talk, and from these the panels will each select a single representative for their University.
• In Stage 3, the representatives from all participating Universities will compete for the final prize, delivering their talks live (or, if not possible, via their recordings).
   

STAGE 1 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN (DUE 15 MAY)
Applicants wishing to be considered for selection as a University of Sydney representative must submit a “Summary Paper”: the written summary of a 10-minute talk addressing the Prize theme.

Summary Papers must contain: 

•  Student's contact details and photo;
•  Student's self-introduction and level of study (50 words max); and
•  Summary of the talk (400 words max).

Summary Papers will be evaluated according to these criteria:

•  Respect of the words limit;
•  Relevance and interest of the talk in relation to the Prize theme; and
•  Well written and structured argument.  

Due date: 11:59PM, 15 May 2025.

ELIGIBILITY

Students must meet the following criteria to be eligible to participate in the challenge:

a) Students must be undertaking study within the Arts or Humanities disciplines.

b) Students must be in their final year of a Bachelor degree, or must be Honours, Graduate Certificate, Masters, or PhD students.

c) Students must be enrolled for the first semester of the calendar year in one of the participating Institutions (cf. Appendix 1: universities participating in the 2025 Prize and their coordinators).

d) Students must be over the age of 18 and able to legally enter a contract under these T&C.

See full terms and conditions here. 

MORE INFORMATION
For information about the Prize, including full eligibility criteria and Terms and Conditions, please visit cultureplus.com.au/eloquence-art-prize

Thanks to the generous support of Nicholas Curtis AM and Angela Curtis, the Power Institute is delighted to offer a new suite of four Residency Fellowships for 2026.

Applicants can apply for one of three categories:

• Category A: Artists / craftspeople.
• Category B: Art writers, art curators, art historians or art administrators.
• Category C: University of Sydney staff-members or PhD candidates.

The Fellowship covers the rental fee for a studio at the Cité des Arts Internationale in Paris for 3 months in 2026. Residency winners will also receive $6,000 AUD towards travel and living expenses.  

Applications close at midnight, 25 July 2025.

Selection Criteria

The Fellowships are awarded by a Committee chaired by the Director of the Power Institute, in consultation with the Cité des Arts Internationale. The Committee will award four Fellowships, with at least one Fellow from each of the three categories outlined above. 

The Committee will award Fellowships with strict regard to the following criteria:

1. The strength of the applicant's project.
2. The benefit of pursuing this project via a Residency in Paris.
3. The potential for the Residency to further the applicant's professional development at this stage of their career.
    

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must be an Australian citizen or Permanent Resident. 

Applicants cannot have previously received a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts (either through the Power Institute or another organisation).

Eligibility requirements for Category C: "University of Sydney staff-members or PhD candidates":

• An eligible "PhD candidate" is someone who is enrolled as a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney at the application closing date.
• An eligible "staff-member" is someone who, within two months of the application closing date, has been or will be employed by the University as a Professional or Academic staff-member, including those on casual, temporary or fixed term appointments. This does not include those engaged under other forms of contract.

The ability to speak French is an advantage, but is not essential.

Fellowship Conditions

• The Fellowship covers the rental fee for a studio at the Cité des Arts Internationale in Paris for 3 months in 2026, in one of the following periods: January - March, April - June, July - September, October - December.
• Fellows will be required to pay a bond deposit (refundable) and utility costs for the duration of their stay.
• $6,000 (AUD) will be provided to Fellows to contribute to travel and living expenses. Payment will be made approximately 6 weeks prior to travel. Successful applicants will need to have sufficient funds if they would like to book air tickets well in advance of commencement of residency.
• Fellows must submit a report detailing their outcomes at the end of their residency.
   

Key Dates

Applications open: 11 April 2025.

Applications close: Midnight, 25 July 2025.

Applicants notified of outcome: September 2025. 

Inquiries and More Information

More information about the Cité Internationale des Arts, and past Residencies, can be found on the Power Institute's website. 

If you have any inquiries about the Residency or the application process, please email powerinstitute@sydney.edu.au