The 2025 Rigg Design Prize, Australia’s most prestigious contemporary design award, will open on 19 September, showcasing the nation’s emerging design talent. Marking a significant shift, the tenth edition focuses exclusively on 35 outstanding Australian designers under the age of 35, working across ceramics, glass, furniture, woodwork, metalwork, textiles, lighting, and contemporary jewellery.
Traditionally awarded to established and mid-career practitioners, this year’s prize highlights fresh voices and innovative approaches within Australia’s design landscape. The participants will debut new works at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), offering visitors an intimate look into their creative processes, ideas and motivations.
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)
NGV director Tony Ellwood AM 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.”
Source: Architecture - architectureau
