2026 Finalists

Abberton, ViiVi (AUS, Tasmania), Debilitation

Abdolmohammadi, Sepideh (IRN), Kajal

Baldwin, Sally (UK), Ocean

Bauer, Ilka (CAN), Ancestral Memory

Bedford, Darryl (UK), Amplitude

Britt, Diane (USA), Miriam Priestess

Bryant-Duguid, Kelcie (AUS, New South Wales), Sunbird Warrior – Small and Mighty Hind

Cherry, Lorenz (AUS, Tasmania), Paper Bride – Faith, Hope, Departure

Craven, Keziah (AUS, Victoria), Between Light and Shadow

Crowden, Polly (AUS, New South Wales), Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Damm, Paula (USA), when there was a flood she wrote them again

Fitzhenry, Katie (UK), Shifu of Seamlessness and Grounds

Gerzanics, Louise (AUS, Queensland), What Falls Away

Hamblin, Natalie (AUS, Queensland), Fall

Hawkins, Shih (AUS, Tasmania), The Devil Wears Paper

Jamieson, Renate (AUS, Western Australia), Matriarch of Metal

Jamieson, Renate (AUS, Western Australia), Portrait of ASD (autism spectrum disorder)

Kato, Kaori (JPN), Kinetic Negative Spaces

Lim, Kim (USA), Murmurs of Paper

Mahnken, Dior (AUS, New South Wales), Rare Earth

Major, Tanja (DEU), Mykobütten Kimono Dress

May, Amanda (AUS, Victoria), KaBloom

Namboodiri, Swapna (AUS, South Australia), Emergence

Oakes, Leonie (AUS, Tasmania), A long silence wandered in

O’Connor, Helen (CAN), Shelter

Parkin, Julie (AUS, New South Wales), Opera House Dress

Parmer, Tanvi (IND), Inner Seijaku: A Pause That Moves

Parry-Jones, Clare (UK), Ice Labyrinth Dress and Jacket

Patwardhan Piyusha (IND), Between the Lines

Tica, Antoaneta (ROM), Nothing to Wear

Tsunekawa, Tessera (JPN), Uncut Monolith

Voorpostel, Derek (AUS, Tasmania), Butterfly Dior

Williams, Tony (USA), Pojagi

Williams, Tony (USA), A Kaleidoscope of Color

 
Terms and Conditions
Terms and Conditions
 
 
 
 

Mahnken, Dior (AUS) Love the Skin You’re In. Honourable Roger Jaensch MP Runner Up Award, 2024. Grant Wells Photo

 
 
 

KEY DATES

2 Oct - Welcome Dinner at The Cove

3 Oct - Gala Event and Award Evening (paranaple arts centre)

4 Oct - Up-Close Showcase at Basalt

5-8 Oct - International Workshop Series with Erica Spitzer Rasmussen 

10 Oct - Exhibition Opens at the Devonport Regional Gallery

Judges

  • Sally Jackson

    Artist - Designer - Educator

    Sally Jackson is a sustainable designer, artist, and educator whose career includes commercial bridal wear, fashion, and costume design. She currently teaches Fashion Illustration at the University of Technology Sydney. The Bowerbirds, Sally’s 100% up-cycled couture collection, illustrates her commitment to circularity and reimagining luxury designs. She believes in skill-sharing and storytelling through clothing, passionately advocating for DIY fashion education. Sally is enthusiastic about community engagement, collaborating on multiple projects with First Nations Fashion and Design. Her contributions include designing sustainable fashion programs for UTS and The Powerhouse Museum and facilitating community workshops for Sydney World Pride at the Sydney Opera House.

    Photo credit: Fiona Wolf

    Sally’s website

    sallyjackson.com

    Sally’s Insta instagram.com/norulesjustpassion

  • Gail Stiffe

    Papermaker - Paper and Book Artist

    Growing up with a bush gully a favourite playground led Gail Stiffe to a lifelong love of nature. She learned hand papermaking when her children were young and her science background seemed to be good fit. The versatility of paper as a medium in its own right has led to a long career in the paper art world. Stiffe makes artist books, framed artworks, installations, jewellery and cards. Her paper is often the artwork itself and at other times the carrier of the art.

    Quickly becoming addicted to hand papermaking and the many possibilities it offers for creative expression led to a buildup of paper supplies which in turn led her to investigate bookbinding as a way of presenting her work. She hasn’t looked back since then and her books are held in many public and private collections.

    Gail is President of the Papermakers of Victoria.

    Gail’s Insta instagram.com/gail_stiffe_books_paper

  • Deborah Wace

    Botanical artist - Fabric Designer - Printmaker

    Deborah Wace is a Churchill Fellow, a botanical artist & fabric designer, ecological activist, and professional printmaker from Tasmania. Her highly detailed and intimate artwork creates a window into the botany of Tasmanian wild plant communities.

    Deborah uses her plant specimen collection and her print making/teaching, to create an intersection between botany and fine fabrics, refreshing a conversation about ecology and threatened species and the protection of valuable ecological/historical/cultural environments.

    Through her botanical fabric designs, original printmaking and wallpaper collections, her goal is to create real conversations about habitat loss & biodiversity. She invites a deeper, more informed and sustainable connection into our natural world, using fabric design, song, art and film, the most subversive democratic mediums for creating social change!

    She now lives and works in Cygnet.

    Photo credit: Owen Fielding

    Deborah’s website

    deborahwace.com

    Deborah’s Insta
    instagram.com/deborahwace

awards at a glance

  • Major Award - AUD$5000

    A work of creative and technical excellence, from concept through to execution.

  • Honourable Roger Jaensch MP Runner-Up Award - AUD$2000

  • Award in honour of Pam and Neil Thorne - AUD$1500

    Award which reflects the core concept of Paper on Skin™, an idea conceived and developed by paper artist Pam Thorne. Sponsored by Janet De Boer OAM.

  • Professional Development Award - AUD$1500

    To fund professional and creative development opportunities for an individual artist during an 18-month period commencing Oct 2026. 

  • Designer Dreaming – AUD$1000

    A work which evokes an historic period or draws inspiration from the glamour of couture design. Sponsored by Stephanie Reynolds.

  • Best Accessory(ies) Award - AUD$1000

    Award for technical and aesthetic mastery in the accessory component of the garment. Headpiece, neckpiece, shoes, fashion accessories (handbag/jewellery/adornment) or a manipulable part of the outfit. Sponsored by Ian Wild & Associates Pty Ltd.

  • First-time Entrant Award – AUD$1000

    Award for a first-time entrant to Paper on Skin. Sponsored by Casey Hiscutt MLC, Independent Member for Montgomery.

  • Paper as Textile Award – AUD(value)$1800

    For the best use of paper as textile, sponsored by Anzara Clark. Prize includes a limited edition, handbound collector’s copy of Paper As Textile Volumes 1 and 2, plus a paper textile mentoring package tailored to the paper textile interests and goals of the award winner.

  • Awagami Paper Award in Recognition of the use of Handmade Paper – AUD(value)$500

    A selection of Awagami Editioning papers. The award recognises the use of handmade, artisanal and/or non-commercial paper. To be awarded by visiting paper specialist and workshop tutor.

  • Mayor of Devonport ‘Behind the Curtain’ Award - AUD$500

    Selected by the Devonport Mayor at the conclusion of a ‘Behind the Curtain’ tour.

  • Cocoon Designs Public Vote Award - $500

    Voted by the public during the Paper on Skin™ exhibition at the Devonport Regional Gallery Oct 10 – Nov 14.