Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize 2027

Barung Landcare invites you to enter the 16th Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize from 30th April 2027 - 3rd May 2027. The exhibition will be held in the stunning Glasshouse at Montvale Montville, in Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast Hinterland. The Wootha Prize has been Barung’s signature environmental education and fundraising event since 2004.

With ongoing commitment from sponsors, the Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize is a truly prestigious national woodworking competition, attracting contemporary designers and innovative craftspeople in the promotion of the sustainable use of our beautiful native timbers.

In 2027 the Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize again delineates three categories that revel in a diversity of wood creations, strikingly considered and skilfully created.

 

• Furniture
• Sculpture
• Tiny Treasures

These categories will be eligible to be considered for prize money under their respective categories, as well as the overall $10,000 William Bayiss Commemorative Prize and a People's Choice Prize of $500. Further details provided in the guidelines.

 

Application Categories

You may submit a maximum of 2 entries:

• 1 entry into Tiny Treasures 
• 1 entry into either Furniture or Sculpture 

Each entry requires a separate entry form and payment of the $40 entry fee.

 

Application fee

There is a non-refundable application fee of $40 per entry (plus 90c card processing fee) for all categories. 

 

Theme - Shaping Regeneration

The works for the Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize 2027 exhibition would consider timber not as a finite resource, but as a living continuum. Wood is not static; it remembers, adapts, and begins again.

Along with inviting creativity and craftsmanship, Barung Landcare will use this theme to encourage community dialogue and deepen public connection with its environmental restoration and regeneration work. Shaping Regeneration invites makers to create work that actively restores ecological and material systems through sourcing, lifecycle, function, and narrative.

Submissions should demonstrate how materials, processes, and design can contribute to regeneration, whether through the reuse of overlooked resources, practices that honour ecological systems, or objects designed for longevity and evolving purpose. Regeneration may also be expressed through quieter gestures; forms that suggest new growth, surfaces that reveal hidden histories, or works that invite reflection, delight, and a sense of reverie.

Together, these works remind us that renewal is not only a technical challenge, but a creative act.

 

Closing date

All applications must be received by midnight Friday 19th March 2027.

Applicants need to have all information provided with their application, there will be no follow-ups to confirm any gaps. If information is not provided as per the application and Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize Guidelines, entrants will jeopardise their entry proceeding to selection. 

Details of Competition Piece

Please submit a seperate application form for each entry.

Please complete ALL sections following the Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize Application Guidelines. 

Materials Used

Clearly define the source of the timbers used in your work. Simply stating “sustainably sourced” is not sufficient.

Wood artisans entering the Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize are required to work in sustainably harvested native, weed or recycled timbers, and may incorporate other media.

Sustainably harvested timbers are obtained through methods that prioritise the preservation and regeneration of forest ecosystems. This involves practices like selective logging, tree replanting, biodiversity conservation, indigenous rights protection and mitigation of environmental harm such as deforestation, soil erosion and habitat destruction. 

Please tell us about where your timber was sourced. This will be promoted on your exhibition label if you are successful as a finalist.

If you are unsure if your piece meets the requirements, please contact the Wootha Prize Coordinator at woothaprize@barunglandcare.org.au 

About your entry

Application Checklist

Payment