Crossing over the Princes Highway Bridge into Moruya, the wide, peaceful tidal river falls away and ahead lies the charming heart of Moruya – heritage houses fanning out on wide streets in both directions, with thriving bushland rising behind.
Catching the light at the corner of Moruya’s civic precinct, a sweeping arc of polished steel rods curves up in flowing silver waves framed by the sky. The stunning five-and-a-half metre tall sculpture by Terrance Plowright OAM is called duraya dhuduga barra barra in Dhurga – the language of the local Yuin people. Translated into English, this means River Touching Ocean, and it perfectly sums up the town of Moruya and the Country it sits upon.
The much-photographed sculpture was gifted to Moruya by Basil Sellers AO – the founder of the Basil Sellers Art Prize (BSAP).
“A well-considered piece of public art, this impressive work will also serve as a wayfinding marker for visitors to the Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre,” the council’s Director of Community, Arts and Recreation Kathy Arthur says.
It’s an enticing preview of what visitors can expect to find in the Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre, where every second year in December, a quietly extraordinary event in the Australian arts calendar takes place.
Giving artists back their time, dignity and energy
Sitting beside the town’s library and council chambers, Eurobodalla’s beloved regional gallery – the Basil Sellers Exhibition Centre – is a striking steel building with clerestory windows. The locals have affectionately dubbed it the Bas.
Within the gallery, the biennial Basil Sellers Art Prize celebrates more than two decades of showcasing an astounding array of art. This year, it’s going to be bigger and better than ever.
In 2026 the prize returns with a pool exceeding $55,000, anchored by a $50,000 acquisitive award through the generosity of Basil Sellers, alongside the $5000 Eurobodalla Award for an outstanding local work. But the prize’s growing reputation isn’t really about the money. After the 2022 prize, a respected local artist sent an email to the Eurobodalla council asking what the point of an art exhibition was, and whether a national prize had any relevance to the regional community.
That earnest question sparked a fundamental redesign – an honest reckoning with what prizes ask of artists, what they mean to communities, and whether any of it truly serves them. The answer then became a guiding principle: give artists back their time, dignity and energy for what matters most: making art.
Doing it for the art, and the artists
As an artist, entering a prize carries a mental load that most people never encounter. Hours spent resizing images, rewriting statements to arbitrary word counts, updating résumés to justify participation. The BSAP has stripped it all back, with the process requiring only what is needed. Artist statements are optional, as the Bas team believes that an artist’s time and creative energy should be directed at their practice, not admin.
Many organisers behind prizes also ask that artists refrain from showing off their art outside of their organisational sphere, with exclusivity clauses and even restrictions on artists sharing their artworks on their own social media.
Not at the Bas. Art is made to be seen, and the BSAP won’t stand in the way of artists sharing, showing and selling work that they’ve entered.
The financial reality of participation is also taken seriously at the Bas. Courier fees for finalists are covered, and a $100 framing subsidy helps ensure professional presentation. The $50 entry fee goes directly into creative arts programming in Eurobodalla, supporting creative literacy and the next generation of practitioners in a region that takes its cultural life seriously. Entering the BSAP makes artists a part of the Bas family and genuine contributors to a grateful community.
This approach extends to how the prize communicates with every artist, at every stage. Kindness, care and genuine interest are the Bas’s guiding principles, even when an artist does not make it to the finals. Artists have written to organisers to say they were the kindest, most considered rejection letters they’d ever received, and that type of response is another measure of the prizes success.
Behind the scenes, all the way
Behind it all is a man who has stayed committed for over two decades. In 2024 Basil Sellers doubled the major award, not because he was asked, but because he believes in giving artists opportunities they might not otherwise have, and because the direction of the prize charted by the Bas team reflects his values.
The Basil Sellers Art Exhibition opens December 4, 2026. On the opening night the sprawling deck will fill with artists and art admirers, fairy lights will twinkle overhead, champagne will flow, and the warmth of a gathered community will be felt. And the stars of the show will be art that stops guests mid-sentence.
Key dates for the Basil Sellers Art Prize
Call for Entries: June 1 – September 11, 2026
Finalists announced: October 16, 2026
Opening and winners announced: December 4, 2026
Exhibition: December 5 2026 – January 30, 2027
For more information, visit thebas.com.au
Loving this story on the Basil Sellers Art Prize? Check out more galleries in Melbourne here.
Rex flies to Moruya. Book your flights here and check out the route map below for more details.
