2025 CRAFT + DESIGN CANBERRA DAILY CREATIVE CHALLENGE OVERVIEW

In July 2025 we encourage our community to participate in our challenge and redefine what creativity is. Now in its 4th year the Challenge explores the theme of Rewilding, a call to return to untamed creativity, embrace imperfection, and connect with the raw, natural forces that shape both art and life. We invite you to engage in daily creative practice to rediscover inspiration and inner peace in any medium, such as clay, fabric, ink, digital tools, paint or writing.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE | Tuesday 1 July 2025 (Late registrations up to 7 July 2025 at 5pm)

HOW THE CHALLENGE WORKS

The Challenge is simple and it is free to sign up. Once registered, you will receive daily word prompts related to the theme of Rewilding via email throughout July. Create your response using any creative technique and post an image to Instagram with the prompt word and date and include both tags #CDCCREATIVECHALLENGE25 and @craft_design_canberra. At the end of July submit your work to be eligible for over $8000 worth of prizes and to have your work showcased in our online exhibition. (Examples of previous online exhibitions can be found Here.

What better way to spend the cold winter months than by joining us to carve out dedicated time to create, explore and share your artistic expressions online? Together, we will inspire each other and discover the endless possibilities of creative practice.

The prizes for the 2025 Daily Creative Challenge are:

$5,000 Cash First Prize
$2,500 Cash Second Prize
$1,000 Cash Emerging Craftsperson Prize
$200 Curatoreum Bookshop Gift Voucher

The 20 finalists will have their work exhibited in online exhibition and the winners will be invited to exhibit work in the Crucible Showcase Gallery of Craft + Design Canberra in November 2025.

To be eligible for a prize, you must be a current Maker, Accredited Professional or Craft + Design Lover member of Craft + Design Canberra. Join HERE

KEY DATES

Dates	Details
1 July 2025	Registrations close (Late registrations up to 7 July 2025 at 5pm)
1–31 July 2025	2025 Daily Creative Challenge
7 August 2025	Final cutoff date for Instagram posts
14 August 2025	Deadline for prize entry via online FORM (must be a financial member of Craft+ Design Canberra. Join HERE*)
21 August 2025	Shortlist of 20 finalists
15-19 September 2025	Judging
25 September	Prize winners notified
2 October 2025	Public announcement of winners
24 November 2025	Winners physical work to be delivered to gallery for the Exhibition
27 November – 13 December 2025	Exhibition dates

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE

Everyone is welcome! This year we have waived the entry fee for registration to encourage participation and share the benefits of being creative with a larger community. Everyone is welcome to have a go.

Whether it’s ceramics, sewing, drawing, metal work, sculpting, woodwork, photography, graphic design, writing, painting, video, cooking or any other creative expression, this challenge offers a unique space for self-discovery, wellbeing and artistic growth through daily creative practice. The Daily Creative Challenge is an opportunity to explore new techniques, push boundaries and share your journey with a like-minded community.

PRIZE ELIGIBILITY

The Challenge is free to sign up and free to participate, however, if you would like to be eligible to win one of the prizes:

You must be a current Maker, Accredited Professional or Craft + Design Lover member of Craft + Design Canberra to be eligible for a prize. Join HERE
Complete the 31-day challenge and submit your digital images and information via Prize Entry Online Form by 14 August 2025.

We recommend you save your digital images in the required format (below) in a folder throughout the Challenge, to make file upload easier when you submit.

Don't forget you need to be a financial member of Craft + Design Canberra to be eligible. Join HERE

The Prize Entry form will require you to submit:

Images of each entry.
Please submit all 31 images of your entries through the designated online FORM. Upload 1 image for each day of the challenge, 31 images in total. Formats: JPEG or PNG (maximum 3MB per image). Please label each image using the following format: Name_DayNumber e.g.: AlexSmith_1, AlexSmith_2, AlexSmith_3, etc.

Statement (100-word maximum) (Written in first person).
Share a bit about yourself and your experience with the 2025 Daily Creative Challenge. Discuss how the prompts sparked new ideas, what materials you used, and how you approached the challenge. Reflect on whether the experience engaged or challenged you, and whether it inspired new ideas or ways of making.

Instagram handle

JUDGING CRITERIA

After submitting your online FORM including submitting all image files to us your submission will assessed based on:

Creative and conceptual response to the daily prompts
Cohesive approach across all responses
Quality of the responses, including skill with chosen media
Completion | 31 responses completed, published on Instagram with the prompt word and date, and tagged with #CDCCREATIVECHALLENGE25 and @craft_design_canberra by the end of the challenge, with a deadline of 7 August 2025

Judges

David Williams, Former Director, Canberra School of Art, now School of Art and Design, Australian National University
o David Williams is a trained art and craft teacher with a background in Victorian secondary education and woodcraft teaching in London. He holds a Diploma and Fellowship Diploma in jewellery and sculpture from RMIT. David lectured at Melbourne State College and served as Director of both the Australia Council Craft Board and the Canberra School of Art. An Emeritus Professor at ANU, he has contributed to numerous boards and exhibitions, and received an AM for his service to the arts and education.
Jennifer McFarlane, Curator, ACT Health
o Dr McFarlane has curated diverse public collections in the ACT including at the Canberra Museum and Gallery, the Legislative Assembly for the ACT and the Museum of Australian Democracy (proppaNOW Insurgence 2013-2014). She is currently the Canberra Health Services Curator of Arts in Health, where she is responsible for commissioning artists and fostering partnerships.
Richard Baz, Director, The Curatoreum
o Richard Baz is a creative force both in the public eye and behind closed doors. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual) from the Australian National University (1993) and a Graduate Diploma in Graphic Design from the University of Canberra (2002), he has built a career dedicated to artistic and cultural leadership. As the Director of The Curatoreum at the National Portrait Gallery and the National Arboretum Canberra, he curates meaningful artistic experiences for the public. Yet beyond his professional role, Richard remains a devoted "closet maker" —consistently crafting objects of artistic merit in quiet moments, a pursuit that feeds his soul and sustains his deep creative connection.
Jodie Cunningham, CEO + Artistic Director, Craft + Design Canberra
o Jodie Cunningham is CEO and Artistic Director of Craft + Design Canberra. Jodie is a Canberra based visual artist and maker of objects and jewellery. She has an MFA, UNSW; BFA with University Medal, ANU and was the recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship for the Visual Arts.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Craft + Design Canberra will provide:

A daily prompt word sent to your email each morning from 1-31 July 2025.
We will reshare selected posts from participants on the Craft + Design Canberra Instagram account. (Please note we aim to share diverse responses but also reserve the right to select the entries that best meet our judging criteria.)

All participants are responsible for:

By entering, you confirm that your daily submission is your own original work and does not infringe on any third-party rights. If your photograph includes recognisable individuals, you must have their permission for the image to be entered and potentially published.
By entering, you grant Craft + Design Canberra a non-exclusive license to use, reproduce and publish your photograph across our platforms for promotional purposes related to the competition.
Entries will be judged based on creativity, quality, cohesiveness and response to the daily prompts. The judges' decision is final.

For further information, please contact:

Victoria Bennett Deputy Director Craft + Design Canberra

victoria.bennett@craftanddesigncanberra.org

02 6262 9333

IMAGE | Participant in the Mindful Clay Workshop led by Fran Romano | Photography by 5 Foot Photography