Event | 2026 CRAFT + DESIGN CANBERRA DAILY CREATIVE CHALLENGE
Date + Time | 1 to 21 July 2026
Location | Online via Instagram
Cost | Free to participate, donations to keep the Challenge free appreciated.
Donate to the Fundraiser | Donate here via Chuffed
Registration | Deadline 1 July 2026 (Late registrations will be accepted up to Tuesday 8 July 2026 at 5pm)
Submission Guide | Learn more about the Challenge

2026 CRAFT + DESIGN CANBERRA DAILY CREATIVE CHALLENGE OVERVIEW

The 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Daily Creative Challenge celebrates Canberra as a vibrant centre of creativity while connecting a wider community of makers across Australia and beyond. 

 Canberra is the most creative city in Australia. Our creative workforce is 2.3% higher than the national average and our creative economy makes the largest proportionate contribution to Gross State Product of any jurisdiction in the country*.  Canberra is pursuing UNESCO Creative City of Design status, a global designation that recognises cities where creativity is central to identity. 

 Now in its 5th year, the Challenge invites you to make your mark on our creative city, one act of making at a time, improving wellbeing and fostering connections and creative expression. Wherever you are, you are invited to take part and contribute to this shared momentum. 

 This July, we explore the theme of Dissent and advocate for creativity as a powerful tool for questioning, challenging, and reshaping ourselves and the world around us. 

 We invite you to engage in daily creative practice from 1 to 21 July, using any medium such as clay, fabric, paper, metal, paint, writing, photography or digital tools to rediscover inspiration and support wellbeing. 

* Creative Canberra: The ACT Creative Industries Environmental Report (2023), University of Canberra and ACT Government. 

HOW THE CHALLENGE WORKS

The Challenge is simple and free to sign up. Once registered, you will receive daily word prompts related to the theme of Dissent via email from 1 to 21 July. Create your response using any creative technique and post an image to your public Instagram account with the prompt word and date and include both tags #CDCCREATIVECHALLENGE26 and @craft_design_canberra. 

At the end of the Challenge, submit the 2026 DAILY CREATIVE CHALLENGE PRIZE ENTRY FORM for a chance to win two $4,000 prizes and one $500 prize and to have your work showcased at the Craft + Design Canberra gallery. 

Only Craft + Design Canberra members are eligible for the prizes. Not a member? Everyone is welcome to JOIN HERE. Student membership is free. 

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. 

KEY DATES

Dates	Details
15 May 2026	Registrations open
1 July 2026	Registrations close (late registrations will be accepted up to 8 July 2026 at 5pm)
1 – 21 July 2026	2026 Craft + Design Canberra Daily Creative Challenge
28 July 2026	Instagram post deadline All 21 posts in response to the daily word prompts must be published on a public Instagram account, with prompt word and date listed, and tagged with both #CDCCREATIVECHALLENGE26 and @craft_design_canberra.
4 August 2026	Prize entry deadline Submit the 2026 DAILY CREATIVE CHALLENGE PRIZE ENTRY FORM. You must be a current member of Craft + Design Canberra.  Not a member? Everyone is welcome to JOIN HERE. Student membership is free.    Submission of this form is required to be considered for judging.
August 2026	Shortlisting and judging
September 2026	Public announcement of finalists and winners
21 September 2026	Winners' physical work delivered to gallery for the Exhibition
24 September – 24 October 2026	Work exhibited at Craft + Design Canberra Gallery

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE

Everyone is welcome. The Challenge is for anyone wanting to rekindle their creativity and connection, including practicing creatives, busy workers, parents, people between roles or retirees, whether in Canberra, elsewhere in Australia or located internationally.  

Artists and craftspeople at all levels, whether professional, emerging, students, or just starting out, as well as non-artists, creatives and craft lovers who are simply curious to try, are invited to participate. 

Working across any form of creative expression, this Challenge is a space for self-discovery, wellbeing, and growth. Think ceramics, sewing, drawing, metalwork, sculpture, woodwork, photography, painting, cooking, music, dance, writing and more. 

Creativity belongs to everyone and everyone is creative.

PRIZES

Three prizes are awarded to participants who complete all 21 responses and submit the 2026 DAILY CREATIVE CHALLENGE PRIZE ENTRY FORM. Winners will be invited to exhibit their work at Craft + Design Canberra from 24 September to 24 October 2026. 

Experimental Process and Practice Prize | $4,000 

Celebrates creative experimentation, risk-taking, and the pursuit of new creative territory across the Challenge. 

Open to all media and disciplines, including ceramics, textiles, jewellery, glass, wood, metal, printmaking, product design, digital design, fashion, mixed media, illustration, photography, film, performance, dance, music, sound, cooking, writing, and any other creative practice.

Open to current financial members of Craft + Design Canberra (Maker, Accredited Professional, or Craft + Design Lover).

Judged against Criteria 1, 2, 3, and 4 as found in the Submission Guide.

Contemporary Craft + Design Prize | $4,000 

Recognises a cohesive, quality body of work with strong creative and conceptual engagement with the daily prompts and the theme of Dissent. 

Open to work made in contemporary craft and design disciplines, including ceramics, textiles, jewellery, glass, wood, metal, paper, printmaking, product design, digital design, fashion, and mixed media.

Open to current financial members of Craft + Design Canberra (Maker, Accredited Professional, or Craft + Design Lover).

Judged against Criteria 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 as found in the Submission Guide.

Student Prize | $500 

Recognises a cohesive body of work demonstrating creative growth, conceptual engagement, and commitment to daily practice. 

Open to all media consistent with the entrant's course of study.

Open to current Student members of Craft + Design Canberra (free to join). Evidence of current enrolment required at time of application.

Judged against Criteria 1, 2, 3, and 4 as found in the Submission Guide.

PRIZE ELIGIBILITY

The Challenge is free to register and participate in. To be eligible for prizes, all of the following conditions apply: 

Complete 21 creative responses across the Challenge period (1-21 July 2026).

Publish all 21 responses on your public* Instagram account, including the relevant daily prompt word and date in each post, by the Instagram deadline of 28 July 2026.

Tag each post with #CDCCREATIVECHALLENGE26 and @craft_design_canberra by 28 July 2026.

Be a current member of Craft + Design Canberra at the time of application. Membership must be confirmed before your entry is considered for judging. Not a member? Everyone is welcome to JOIN HERE. Student membership is free.

Submit the 2026 DAILY CREATIVE CHALLENGE PRIZE ENTRY FORM by 4 August 2026. Submission of this form is required to be considered for judging. Entries not submitted via the form by this date will not be assessed.

*Your Instagram account must be set to public not private  

For further information about the Challenge please refer to the Submission Guide.

Image | Lynn Petersen | 2025 Craft + Design Canberra Daily Creative Challenge Winners Exhibition | 5 Foot Photography

Contact the host of 2026 Craft + Design Canberra Daily Creative Challenge