Undercover Artist Festival 2025

Hero Artwork Call-out

Are you a d/Deaf or disabled visual artist? Here's your chance to shape the visual identity of the 2025 Festival with the Undercover Artist Festival Hero Artwork!

Your creation could be something new or a powerful piece from your existing portfolio that perfectly aligns with the theme, Push It! and colour blue. Whether you paint with a brush, create with a computer mouse, or experiment with mixed media – your unique perspective of Push It! is what we’re looking for.

The chosen artwork will take centre stage, becoming the key imagery across all collateral, advertising, and digital applications for the 2025 Festival.

The Theme

Push It! isn’t confined to a single interpretation. We invite you to explore and interpret the theme in ways that resonate with your artistic vision. It’s meant to be abstract, a canvas for your creativity to thrive. But here are some examples of what Push It! can mean: 

Pushing the boundaries - Challenging the status quo and redefining what’s possible.
Pushing buttons – Evoking emotions, provoking thought, and stirring reactions.
Pushing to be better, stronger and braver – Personal growth as an artist, pushing the limits of your capabilities.

Pushing each other – A community of artists lifting each other up through healthy peer encouragement.
Pushing for change – Being a voice for change, advocating and making an impact through art.

Timeframes

15 March – Festival Hero Artwork Call-Out opens
1 June – Festival Hero Artwork Call-Out closes
30 June – Selected artist notified
2 September – Hero Artwork revealed
October – Festival Expressions of Interest opens*

September 2025 – Undercover Artist Festival 2025*

*dates to be announced

Submit Your Artwork

Please submit your artwork via email to undercoverartist@cpl.org.au by 11:59pm, Saturday 1 June 2024.

Please download and complete the word document here application form.
Please provide at least two (2) clear close-up photos of the artwork.
Include ‘2025 Festival Hero Artwork Submission’ in the subject line.
All submitted artworks must be scanned or saved in jpeg or PNG file format in high resolution. Artworks which are low resolution may not be eligible.

If this method of submission is not suitable for you, please email us at undercoverartist@cpl.org.au to arrange an alternative option.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their submission by 30 June 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact us via undercoverartist@cpl.org.au and we will contact you as soon as possible.

Please note: The Undercover Artist team works part-time only.

Example

In 2023, we introduced the Festival Hero Artwork concept and presented Tommy Daenguthai’s ‘Blue Mother Earth’. Tommy’s artwork featured across the 2023 Festival collateral, on advertising and across all digital platforms.

Here is an example of how we featured ‘Blue Mother Earth’ across the 2023 Festival assets.

Terms and Conditions

Artists can create something new or submit an existing piece of art.
The artwork can be in any medium.
Textured or multi-modal artworks need to be scanned or photographed at a sufficient resolution. The scanning or photography is the artist’s responsibility.
The hero artwork must in some way respond to the 2025 Festival theme: Push It!
Artworks must not contain text or words.
Artworks must be original work. Where components are owned by other artists, it is the submitting artist’s responsibility to obtain permission.
Once selected and upon signing the agreement, the Hero Artwork may be cropped, resized, and otherwise minimally edited to apply Undercover Artist branding.
Artwork should aim to incorporate the Undercover Artist Festival colours as the main colours. Artworks may contain other colours if the Undercover Artist blue tones are most prominent.

Artists must be 18 years +
Submissions are open to all disabled and d/Deaf visual artists in Australia.
Artists must agree to the terms and conditions at the point of submission.
If selected and upon signing the agreement, a fee of $2500 will be payable to the artist.
The artist and artwork will be credited on the Undercover Artist website and selected collateral.