The Katherine prize is an annual celebration of the extraordinary diversity that exists in the Northern Territory arts landscape. This exhibition brings together artists of all ages, cultural backgrounds, languages and regions of the NT. The prize is unique in it’s inclusivity – accepting entries of any medium, by artists at all stages of their creative practice. 

The Katherine Prize has been a cherished celebration of Northern Territory artists for 49 years. The first iteration of the prize took place in 1975 when Katherine local, Brian Lambert, noted the low number of visual art entries in the Katherine Show. Inspired by the quality of entries, Brian offered an annual $500 prize for the best painting. 

In 1977 the Katherine Town Council hosted the Brian and Jeannette Lambert Art Prize as an acquisitional art prize. Over time, the Prize grew with contributions from Dr Kathleen Short and other champions of the arts in the Katherine community. The acquisition of the winning entry ceased in 2005 as there was no room left to house the now extensive art collection.

The Katherine Prize continued to be funded by the Katherine Town Council and was hosted at the Civic Centre until 2012 when the Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre officially opened. The foresight and contribution of the Lambert family has been recognized through the naming of our main gallery space, the Lambert Gallery.

In 2020, Geoff and Julie Newton, became the new sponsors of the Major Award—joining Katherine Town Council as our ongoing prize partner.