RSL and Schools Remember ANZAC Art Competition for 2024
The RSL and Schools Remember ANZAC Commemoration was first held in 1953, co-hosted by RSL NSW and the Department of Education. Over the years the service has expanded to Catholic Schools NSW and the Association of Independent Schools NSW.
Proceedings, held at the Anzac Memorial Hyde Park in April each year, are delivered entirely by school students including the Master of Ceremonies, keynote address, readings, and musical accompaniment. The Service also includes an Inspection of the Guard by the official party, The Ode, The Last Post, and Rouse.
The service aims to educate primary and secondary school students about Australia’s military history, whilst paying respect to the service and sacrifice of servicemen and women of the Australian Defence Force.
To mark the 70th Anniversary of this service in 2023, RSL NSW, the Department of Education, Catholic Schools NSW and the Association of Independent Schools NSW launched an art competition to NSW school students. Follow its success in the first year, the art competition and exhibition returns in 2024. Two artworks will be selected for the cover of the 2024 service program.
The Order of Service or program historically has had an image on the front cover on a rotation system. These images have included poppies, Cobbers sculpture at Australian Memorial Park in Fromelles and the ANZACs statue in Gallipoli. A sample of this program can be viewed here.
All finalists’ artwork will be displayed at the Anzac Memorial and included in the program.
More information including the 2024 guidelines, how to submit artwork, judging and FAQs can be found below.
Entries for the 2025 RSL and Schools Remember ANZAC Art Competition will open in May.
RSL and Schools Remember ANZAC Art Exhibition 2024
The RSL and Schools Remember ANZAC Art Exhibition will be held at the Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney from 3 to 30 April 2024. This exhibition is a showcase of the finalist’s artwork in the 2024 art competition, with entries ranging from year 4 to year 10 students across NSW. The exhibition is located in Anzac Memorial’s Auditorium on Lower Ground level. The Memorial is open every day, 9am to 5pm. Please note that access to the exhibition is dependent on the auditorium’s availability, so we encourage you to call the Memorial in advance on (02) 8262 2900. Entry is free.
Finalists
Primary School Division
- The Last Journey – Year 6, St Augustine’s Primary School
- In Memory of those Fallen – Year 5, St Anthony of Padua Catholic College (PRIMARY SCHOOL WINNER)
- To Serve, Protect and Prosper – Year 5, Wauchope Public School
- The Last Hat – Year 6, Pitt Town Public School
Secondary School Division
- For Those We Lost and Those Who Came Home – Year 10, St Joseph’s High School
- The Flowers of Remembrance – Year 9, Bethany College Hurstville
- Sandy the Waler – Year 8, Arndell Anglican College
- Why Lest We Forget? – Year 8, Arndell Anglican College (SECONDARY SCHOOL WINNER)
- Memories not to be Forgotten – Year 7, Penrith High School (HIGHLY COMMENDED)
- Tears of Remembrance – Year 9, Arthur Phillip High School
“Why Lest we Forget” (why do we commemorate):
Consider:
- A personal connection to the student’s Australian defence family history.
- Connecting the history of Australian service with contemporary veterans on ANZAC Day.
Each school may submit a maximum of two artworks. Multi-campus schools may submit two artworks per campus.
Each sector head office will complete the first round of judging, where two primary and two secondary finalists will be selected. The Department of Education can submit up to three primary and three secondary finalists.
Fourteen finalists will be judged by an expert judging panel, where one primary and one secondary submission will be chosen as the winners.
The judging criteria will consider:
- Conceptional strength;
- Relevance of the submitted artwork to the theme;
- Artistic interpretation of the theme; and
- Originality of the submission.
The judges’ decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
All 14 finalists will receive:
- A session with the Anzac Memorial Veteran Artist in Residence*
- Artwork on display at the Anzac Memorial in April 2024
- Finalist certificate and medal
- Invitation to attend the 2024 RSL and Schools Remember ANZAC Service
The two winning pieces of artwork will feature on the cover of the 2024 RSL and Schools Remember ANZAC Service Program. The winning artists will receive an invitation to attend the 2024 NSW ANZAC Day Dawn Service in Martin Place as VIPs.
*pending program proceeding in 2024
Each school may submit a maximum of two artworks. Multi-campus schools may submit two artworks per campus. For schools that are K-12 please submit a separate form for primary and secondary school entries.
Artworks must be scanned or photographed and attached to the online submission form, which can be found at the bottom of this page. If using a phone to create the image, please ensure that the camera frames the artwork with the edges in frame. Artworks should be saved as high resolution either as PDF or JPEG format.
Ensure your artwork file is named as: ‘SchoolName_ArtworkTitle’
All finalists will be required to complete a Permission to Publish form. This form must be provided and sent in with their original artwork for the expert judging panel. Please note this form will be for the finalists only and will be sent to the finalists’ schools when they are announced.
- 1 February 2023: Competition opens
- 24 October 2023: Submissions close
- 3 November 2023: Finalists are notified
- 30 November 2023: Winners announced
- 4 April 2024: Finalists attend RSL and Schools Remember ANZAC Service, Exhibition Launch and Workshop
- April 2024: Finalists exhibition at Anzac Memorial
- 25 April 2024: Winners attends the Sydney ANZAC Day Dawn Service
Can regional and remote schools enter?
Yes, the competition is open to all students in all primary and secondary schools within NSW.
Are there any age restrictions?
No, the competition is open to students of all ages in primary and secondary school. Students must be attending school in 2023.
Can we submit a group/class artwork?
No, the competition is only open to individual students’ artwork.
Can I copy?
The judges are looking for originality and only original work is eligible for the competition. You must not copy an artwork or photograph created by another person or an image from another source such as the internet or a print publication.
Do I have to enter a painting?
No. You can use any physical materials you like, including paint, pencil, oil pastel, crayon and collage, as long as the artwork is dry, has no sharp edges, is two dimensional and doesn’t sit higher than 5mm above the surface of the paper. Print-outs of digitally created drawings (eg those drawn with a stylus on a tablet) are not eligible for entry.
Can I use a canvas board or similar material, rather than paper?
No as the finalist’s artwork will be on display in a frame, restriction on both size and material, and specify works need to be A3 portrait and on paper.
Does the artwork need to be created at school in class?
No, students can create their artwork at home or within the curriculum.
Curriculum references
Can the school enter more than once?
No. You can only submit 1 entry per school with a maximum of 2 finalists’ artwork.
Can I submit my child’s own artwork?
No, all submissions must be done through the school. Each school can submit a maximum of 2 artworks for judging.
How do I obtain the Permission to Publish form?
All finalists will be required to complete a Permission to Publish form. This form must be provided and sent in with the original artwork for the expert judging panel. Please note this form will be for the finalists only and will be sent to the finalists’ schools when they are announced.
Who is on the expert judging panel?
The panel is made up of representatives from the NSW Education Standards Authority, Art Gallery of NSW, RSL NSW and the Anzac Memorial Veteran Artist in Residence.
How are finalists and winners announced
Finalists will be announced via email to the school on 3 November 2023.
Winners will be announced via email to the school on 30 November 2023.
All announcements will also be shared on RSL NSW’s website and social media channels.
For general competition questions please contact RSL NSW: events@rslnsw.org.au
Contact details for your school sector:
Department of Education: DoEEvents@det.nsw.edu.au
Association of Independent Schools NSW: ctuttocuore@aisnsw.edu.au
Catholic Schools NSW: Joshua.Byrne@csnsw.catholic.edu.au
The competition “parties” are The Returned and Services League of Australia (NSW Branch) (RSL NSW), The Anzac Memorial, NSW Office of Veteran Affairs, NSW Department of Education, Association of Independent Schools NSW and Catholic Schools NSW.
By entering the RSL and Schools Art Competition 2024, entrants accept these terms and conditions as stated.
Copyright
The artwork submitted must be the original work of the student themselves and not infringe the copyright, moral rights or other rights of any third party. Artworks that are deemed to not belong to or be created by the student will NOT be eligible.
Licensing of artwork
Participants of the competition (including winners and finalists) grant the Parties non-exclusive rights to reproduce their artwork in material form, to photograph, publish and/or communicate it to the public for competition-related purposes, and anything incidental to such purposes, by the Parties: marketing, publicity, educational and publication uses, the competition and its exhibition in all media, including but not limited to electronic/digital, broadcasting and print media, in perpetuity. Permission to so reproduce the work must be conveyed by the student to any party outside the Parties. Where reasonable, the Parties will attribute the student as the author of the work and reproduce the work in full. Details of the work may be used at the Parties’ discretion. Entrants (including winners and finalists) will not be entitled to any fee for such use.
Privacy
RSL NSW collects personal information for the purposes of registration and to keep schools informed about the contest. RSL NSW is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information which the organisation collects, holds and administers. RSL NSW will use all reasonable efforts to protect the privacy of individuals’ personal information and to comply with the obligations imposed by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APP).
RSL NSW will not share any personal data about entrants with any party excluding the Parties to the competition, without the consent of the parent, teacher or guardian.
RSL and Schools Remember ANZAC Art Competition 2023
Winners and Finalists
Primary School Division
- The sun will always shine on the soldiers for past, present and future – Year 4, Bankstown West Public School
- Lest we Forget – Year 6, Cambridge Park Public School (Primary School Winner)
- Fate – Year 6, Warnervale Public School
Secondary School Division
- Service Dogs – Year 8, Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College Berkeley Vale Campus (Highly Recommended)
- Our Unsung Heros – Year 7, Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College Berkeley Vale Campus (Secondary School Winner)
- Anzac – Year 9, Amity College – Prestons Campus
- The Hindenburg Line, Year 9, Queenwood School for Girls
- A love story during a war – Year 7, St Anthony of Padua Catholic College, Austral
- Young Soldier – Year 7, St Clare’s High School