Rigg Design Prize: $40,000 winner and finalists soon revealed

Above: Rigg Design finalist Olive Gill-Hille will reveal her new work at the exhibition opening 19 September. Photo: Emma Pegrum

The winner and finalists of the $40k Rigg Design Prize 2025 will soon be revealed. The exhibition opens 19 September, 2025 with a ‘designer talk and tour’ to take place the day after, 20 September from 11am to 3pm.

This is the 10th edition of ‘Australia’s most prestigious accolade for contemporary design’. In 2025, the theme is ‘Next in Design: 35 under 35’ and the aim is to draw attention to the new generation of designers. The prize is huge: $40,000 for the winner.

The focus is about reinforcing ‘the energy, ingenuity and vision of emerging designers who are making important contributions to their fields’. The 35 finalists work across a range of media and form including ceramics, glass, furniture, woodwork, metalwork, textiles, lighting and contemporary jewellery.

The finalists are: Patrick Adeney, Kartika Laili, Ahmad Ella Badu, Walter Brooks, Dallissa Brown, Andrew Carvolth, Nicola Charlesworth & Kim Stanek, Samantha Dennis, Carly Tarkari, Dodd Hamish Donaldson, Jack Fearon, Olive Gill-Hille, Marcel Hoogstad Hay, Katherine Hubble, Jay Jermyn, Nicolette Johnson, Lavinia Ketchell, Zaiba Khan, Claudia Lau, Nicole Lawrence, Alfred Lowe, Marlo Lyda, Claire Markwick-Smith, Julian Leigh May, Simone Namunjdja, Nathan Nhan, Annie Paxton, Douglas Powell, Amy Seo & Shahar Cohen, Emma Shepherd, Dalton Stewart, Shahn Stewart, Georgie Szymanski, Kohl Tyler and Isaac Williams.

The Rigg Design Prize is the legacy of its benefactor Colin G. Rigg (1895–1982). Past recipients include Neville Assad (1994), Robert Baines (1997), Louise Weaver (2003), Sally Marsland (2006), Simone LeAmon (2009), Marian Hosking (2012, Adam Goodrum (2015), Hecker Guthrie (2018), Leo Burnett Australia (2022).

The exhibition runs from 19 September to 26 February 2026 at the National Gallery of Victoria Federal Square, Level 3.

Learn more at www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/rigg-design-prize