The Gold Award
The Gold Award 2026, installation view, Rockhampton Museum of Art. Photo: Hello Mae Studios
The Gold Award is a biennial, acquisitive art award for contemporary painting. Funded by the Mervyn and Moya Gold Trust through the Rockhampton Museum of Art Gift Fund, The Gold Award is a joint initiative of the Rockhampton Museum of Art Philanthropy Group and Rockhampton Regional Council.
The Gold Award is an invitational award, selected Australian artists are invited by Rockhampton Museum of Art to participate. Invited artists are encouraged to submit a collection of works, to create a fulsome and rich exhibition that offers a coherent vision of an artist’s practice.
Prize: $50,000, acquisitive
Judge: a guest judge is invited each iteration
The Gold Award has enabled Rockhampton Museum of Art to acquire works by renowned artists, Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori (2012), Imants Tillers (2014), Jon Cattapan (2016), Richard Bell (2018), Wendy Sharpe (2022), Rosella Namok (2024) and Karla Marchesi (2026).
The Gold Award Donor Program: The Gold Award Donor Program, an initiative of the Rockhampton Museum of Art Philanthropy Group, directly funds the purchase of additional works from The Gold Award, as recommended by the Rockhampton Museum of Art. The continued growth of the Museum’s collection keeps it current, relevant and exciting, further providing Rockhampton the opportunity to lead as a cultural centre.
Since the establishment of The Gold Award paintings by many finalist artists have joined collection through the Gold Award Donor Program, Cultural Gift Program, donations by artists and private collectors, and through purchases supported by the former Friends of Rockhampton Art Gallery, former Rockhampton Art Gallery Trust, Rockhampton Regional Council and donors through the Rockhampton Museum of Art Gift Fund.
The Gold Award 2026 Winner, Karla Marchesi Wasted Waiting 2025, oil on linen, 165 x 165 cm. Courtesy of the artist, Jan Manton Gallery, Brisbane and Nicholas Thompson Gallery, Melbourne
Behind the Award
A significant and generous bequest to the Rockhampton Art Gallery Trust by the late Moya Gold led to the development of The Gold Award in 2012. Moya Gold, a philanthropist, teacher and lover of the arts requested her gift be used by the Rockhampton Museum of Art for the ongoing collecting of contemporary Australian painting.
The Gold Award ensures the continued growth of Rockhampton Museum of Art's contemporary painting collection, building on the foundations of the Rockhampton Museum of Art’s nationally significant collection of Australian painting built over five decades.
Mervyn and Moya Gold