The Rigg Design Prize, Australia’s most prestigious accolade for contemporary design will open on 19 September 2025 profiling the next in design from across Australia.
Traditionally awarded to established and mid-career design practitioners, the tenth iteration of the Rigg Design Prize in 2025 marks a significant shift to bring into focus thirty-five outstanding Australian designers under the age of 35 working across ceramics, glass, furniture, woodwork, metalwork, textiles, lighting, and contemporary jewellery.
With participants debuting new works at the NGV the exhibition offers a window into the ideas, creative processes, and motivations of designers working today.
Celebrating each designer’s achievements, the 2025 edition presents a compelling survey of the most accomplished object, furniture, lighting, and jewellery being produced in Australia today by the new generation of design talent.
Selected from across Australia, the 35 finalists who were invited by the NGV to compete for the $40,000 Prize are:
Patrick Adeney (VIC, Furniture)
Kartika Laili Ahmad (WA, Lighting)
Ella Badu (VIC, Jewellery)
Walter Brooks (NT, Object Design)
Dalissa Brown (NT, Ceramics)
Andrew Carvolth (SA, Furniture)
Nicola Charlesworth & Kim Stanek – Object Density (NSW, Furniture)
Samantha Dennis (TAS, Jewellery)
Carly Tarkari Dodd (SA, Jewellery)
Hamish Donaldson (VIC, Glass)
Jack Fearon – FEARON (QLD, Furniture)
Olive Gill-Hille (WA, Furniture)
Marcel Hoogstad Hay (SA, Glass)
Katherine Hubble (VIC, Jewellery)
Jay Jermyn (QLD, Lighting)
Nicolette Johnson (QLD, Ceramics)
Zaiba Khan (VIC, Jewellery)
Lavinia Ketchell (QLD, Object Design)
Claudia Lau (VIC, Ceramics)
Nicole Lawrence (VIC, Furniture)
Julian Leigh May (VIC, Furniture)
Alfred Lowe (SA, Ceramics)
Marlo Lyda (NSW, Lighting)
Claire Markwick-Smith (SA, Furniture)
Simone Namunjdja (NT, Object Design)
Nathan Nhan (ACT, Ceramics)
Annie Paxton (VIC, Furniture)
Douglas Powell – Duzi Objects (WA, Furniture)
Amy Seo & Shahar Cohen – Second Edition (NSW, Furniture)
Emma Shepherd – Sundance Studio (VIC, Weaving)
Shahn Stewart – Alchemy Orange (VIC, Object Design)
Dalton Stewart (VIC, Furniture)
Georgie Szymanski (VIC, Furniture)
Kohl Tyler (VIC, Ceramics)
Isaac Williams (TAS, Furniture)
Through their boundary-pushing approaches to materiality, form and function, early-career practitioners play an important role in the future of Australia’s design industries and creative culture. Bringing fresh perspectives, experimenting boldly with materials and processes, and demonstrating a commitment to excellence within their fields, the participants of the Rigg Design Prize 2025 are shaping the next chapter of Australia’s craft and design landscape.
Minister for Creative Industries, Colin Brooks, said: ‘The NGV continues to put our local stars on the global stage and the latest Rigg Design Prize is another great example of this. The exhibition showcases the country’s flourishing designers who are looking at a range of materials from ceramics to jewellery, lighting and glass, and the Victorian Government is proud to back this exhibition which celebrates creativity in every form.’
Tony Ellwood AM, Director, NGV, said: ‘The 2025 Rigg Design Prize turns the focus to the early-career designers of our country and gives them a career-defining platform to share their work with a wide audience. This prize is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the outstanding creative achievements of our early career designers and will show an incredible breadth of skill and ability from a group who are on the rise in their careers and professional practice.’
Simone LeAmon, Curator, Contemporary of Design and Architecture, NGV, said: ‘It’s a privilege to work alongside this new generation of designers — their talent, imagination, and drive offer a powerful and optimistic glimpse into the future of Australian design. Their work reminds us that design is not only alive and well in this country — it’s evolving in bold, brilliant ways that deserve to be seen and celebrated.’
About the Rigg Design Prize:
The Rigg Design Prize is awarded as an outcome of an exhibition that takes place every three years at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia. Exclusive to the NGV, the triennial prize is valued at AUD$40,000 and awarded to the winner as a non-acquisitive cash prize.
Now in its tenth edition, the prize is Australia’s highest national accolade for contemporary design bestowed by an Australian public gallery and seeks to profile a different field of design practice every three years. Since its inception in 1994, the exhibition has featured over one hundred designers across a range of disciplines including interior design and decoration, advertising and communication design, object and furniture design, vessels, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, jewellery and furniture design.
Past award recipients of the prize include Adam Goodrum (2015) for object and furniture design, Hecker Guthrie (2018) for interior design and Leo Burnett Australia (2022) for advertising and communication design.
The Rigg Design Prize is a generous legacy of the late Colin Rigg (1895–1982), a former secretary of the NGV’s Felton Bequests’ Committee. Previously known as the Cicely and Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award, the invitational prize was established in 1994 to recognise contemporary design practice in Victoria.
The Rigg Design Prize 2025 will be on display from 19 September 2025 to February 2026 at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Fed Square, Melbourne, Australia. The winning designer will be announced on 18 September. Free entry. Further information is available via the NGV website: NGV.MELBOURNE