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Sinclair-Nelson Drawing scholarship

Dan Jerinel Bay drawing 2560x2560
8.-drawing by Lily Simpson 2560x2560
0.-2024 Exhibition wall at City of Melb Gallery
7.-Bao-Ngoc-Nguyen-scaled
6.-Zoeanna-Upadhyay
5.-Umid-Tuladhar-scaled
4.-Emily-Withford-scaled
3.-Philip-Cen
2.-Sam-Wilson-scaled
1.-Mada-Aldeeb-scaled

Applications for the 2027 Scholarship are NOW OPEN!

The Sinclair-Nelson Drawing Scholarship will be awarded annually by the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects. The scholarship is intended to:

  • Recognise and celebrate excellence as well as future potential in hand drawn architectural drawing. 
  • Bring greater attention within the profession as well as wider public to the value of hand drawn architectural drawing. 
  • Provide an opportunity for the winner to deepen their knowledge and skills of hand drawn architectural drawing. 
  • Contribute to the understanding and discourse surrounding hand drawn architectural drawing within Victoria and beyond.

BACKGROUND

The Scholarship is funded from a generous donation from the proceeds of the sale of works from an exhibition of architectural drawings in 2023 curated by Robert Sinclair LFRAIA and Roger Nelson FRAIA. The exhibition featured drawings donated by:

Jon Clements, Peter Elliott, Kerstin Thompson, Des Smith, Peter Maddison, Shelley Penn, Paul Katsieris, Mark Jacques, Alex Selenitsch, Peter Williams, Fiona Dunin, James Staughton, Bob Sinclair, Nigel Bertram, Nigel Fitton, David Leece, Roger Nelson, David Balestra, Amy Muir, Karen Alcock, Hamish Lyon, Chris Connell, Jan van Schaik, Peter Felicetti, Anna Dutton, Peter Davidson, Rachel Hurst, Peter Dredge, Sue Robey, Karl Fender, Lucinda McLean, Peter Malatt, Ray Cheung, Emma Jackson, John Wardle, Katica Pedisic, Patrick Ness, Jill Garner, and Rob Watson

SCHOLARSHIP

Recipients will receive:

  • Scholarship to be used for education and travel valued at $10,000
  • Complimentary Institute membership for one year
  • Certificate and citation

ELIGIBILITY

The Scholarship is open to:

  • currently enrolled students of Architecture at a Victorian university – either undergraduate or graduate; or

  • Applicants must currently reside in Victoria and have graduated from an accredited Architecture course within the last 12 months. Your degree parchment must be dated on or after 8 December 2025

JURY

The jury will be comprised of at least four jurors drawn from representatives of the Exhibition organisers; contributors to a previous Exhibition; and an academic, teacher, professional artist or critic nominated by the Victorian Chapter.

JUDGING CRITERIA

The jury will select a winner solely on the merits of their application according to the following criteria:

  • Skills and creative merit as demonstrated in the submitted portfolio of works by hand;
  • Quality of the research proposal including the value of the proposed research to the field and the demonstrated potential of the applicant to realise their ambitions.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Entrants must submit the following to the Victorian Chapter by the published deadline:

  • One (1) original hand-drawn work, created solely by the applicant without any digital assistance, must be submitted. The work must be exactly A1 in size, unframed, and delivered in a presentation folder to the Victorian Chapter. It must be clearly labelled on the reverse side with the drawing title and a caption no longer than 50 words. If the work does not meet this specification your submission will not be eligible to win.

  • 90-sec digital audio clip (MP3 format) consisting of the entrant introducing their drawings and describing their inspiration and process.
  • Sketchbook Digital Scans (PDF) taken from a sketchbook showing between 3 and 10 pages of sketches and drawings by hand. The sketches do not need to be in a finished stage and will be used to demonstrate the creative workings and process of the entrant.
  • Research Proposal: up to 1,500 words outlining research objectives and ambitions including contribution to the field and profession as well as proposed outcomes and presentation. Proposal should include proposed educational course including timeline, tuition and travelling expenses. Scholarship value is $10,000. Delivered as a PDF in the digital submission email.
  • Material for promotional purposes (included in the digital submission email. Not included in judging materials):
    • A single-sided 1-page CV or biography
    • 1 x headshot

Drawing Portfolio should be delivered to the Victorian Chapter by the published deadline:

Victorian Chapter – Drawing Prize
L4/ 41 Exhibition St., Melbourne. 3000.
(Or entrants can leave portfolio at the Level 4 Reception)

All other material (Sketchbook Digital Scans, Digital Audio Clip, Research Proposal, CV/Biography and Headshot) must be submitted via the online entry form below.

PROMOTION AND INSTITUTE EXHIBITION

  • All entrants agree that their entry drawings may be displayed on Institute online platforms and channels on an ongoing basis including websites, social media and video platforms.
  • Entry drawings may also be published in Institute publications and shared with the media for promotional purposes.
  • All images will be credited, and copyright is fully retained by the entrant.
  • The Institute may organise an exhibition – in person and/or online – at which some or all entry drawings are displayed. Entrants agree the Institute will have custody of the drawings for a period of six months from the entry deadline for this purpose after which they will be available for collection by entrants at the Institute offices.

TERMS

  • Scholarship recipients must present their research findings to an Institute forum within 1 year of winning. The location and format of the forum will be agreed with the recipient.
  • The decision of the judges is final. No feedback or correspondence will be entered into.
  • Entrants must be individuals. No joint entries will be accepted. Only one entry per individual may be submitted each year.
  • Entrants confirm that they are the sole creator/author of the submitted drawings. All creators with legal and/or moral rights to a drawing must consent to the submission and be properly credited.
  • Jurors and entrants must notify the Chapter of any actual or potential conflict of interest at the earliest opportunity.
  • In the event that a juror is unable to participate in the judging, the Chapter will appoint a replacement.

For questions related to Victorian Chapter prizes and scholarships, please email [email protected].

Drawing by Robert Sinclair LFRAIA
August 2026 2027 Scholarship Launches (Terms of Reference Published)
30 January 2027 Deadline for entries
Feb - Mar 2027 Judging period
Date TBC Winner announced at 2027 Victorian Chapter Honours Event

Winner:  Lily Simpson, Deakin University

Commendation: Dan Jerinel Bay, RMIT University

Other Exhibited Entries:

Declan East, University of Melbourne
Elizabeth Kwa, RMIT University
Jessica Hall, University of Melbourne
Lewis Howarth, Monash University
Neve Elliott, University of Melbourne
Nick McDonald, Monash University

Winner:  Mada Aldeeb, RMIT University

Commendation: Sam Wilson, RMIT University

Other Exhibited Entries:

Philip Cen, University of Melbourne
Emily Withford, University of Melbourne
Umid Tuladhar, Deakin University
Zoeanna Upadhyay, Swinburne University of Technology
Bao Ngoc Nguyen, RMIT University

2027 Sinclair Nelson Drawing Scholarship Entry Form

The Sinclair-Nelson Drawing Scholarship will be awarded annually by the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects. Deadline for entries is 30 January 2027.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Entrant Details

Name*
To be used for certificates and membership details.
Preferred Name*
To be used for social media and on stage announcements.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to monitor your email address, and you cannot use your student email address.
We will use this number to call you. It is your responsibility to answer the call.

Submission and File Labelling Instructions

One (1) original hand-drawn work
One (1) original hand-drawn work, created solely by the applicant without any digital assistance, must be submitted. The work must be exactly A1 in size, unframed, and delivered in a presentation folder to the Victorian Chapter. It must be clearly labelled on the reverse side with the drawing title and a caption no longer than 50 words. If the work does not meet this specification your submission will not be eligible to win. Works should be sent to the Victorian Chapter unframed in a presentation folder. Both drawings may be exhibited. It is the entrant's responsibility to deliver the portfolio to the Victorian Chapter by the published deadline. The folio must be labelled: Victorian Chapter – Drawing Prize, L4/ 41 Exhibition St., Melbourne. 3000. If the entrant decides to post/courier the portfolio to the Victorian Chapter - it is not the Chapters responsibility to track missing parcels. It is the entrant's responsibility to submit their portfolio before close of entries. If you do not understand these requirements contact [email protected]
Max. file size: 50 MB.
90 SECOND DIGITAL AUDIO CLIP (MP3 format) consisting of the entrant introducing their drawings and describing their inspiration and process) Titled as follows {Insert Full Name_2025_Sinclair_Nelson_Audio_Clip)
Taken from a sketchbook showing between 3 and 10 pages of sketches and drawings by hand. The sketches do not need to be in a finished stage and will be used to demonstrate the creative workings and process of the entrant. File must be labelled as follows; {Insert Full Name_ sketch_book_digital_scans}
Drop files here or
Max. file size: 50 MB.
    (note this material is not included in the actual judging, it is the material to be used to promote the winner, exhibition, scholarship in general) High-res photograph of the author/producer. Titled as follows {Insert_Full_Name_Headshot) AND a single-sided 1-page CV or biography By submitting these files, you give us permission to use the images.
    Drop files here or
    Max. file size: 50 MB.
      Up to 1,500 words outlining research objectives and ambitions including contribution to the field and profession as well as proposed outcomes and presentation. Proposal should include proposed educational course including timeline, tuition and travelling expenses. File must be labelled as follows {Insert_Full Name_Research_Proposal} Scholarship value is $10,000
      Max. file size: 50 MB.
      If any of your files are too large for upload above, paste a file share link below. Eg Dropbox, Google Drive, Hightail, One Drive, We Transfer etc. Be sure the link can be downloaded and is an open downloadable link.
      Submission Acknowledgement
      Once you have complete both all parts of this online submission and delivered the portfolio - it is the entrant's responsibility to email [email protected] the following, before close of entries: I, {insert your full name}, have completed my submission for the 2027 Sinclair-Nelson Drawing Scholarship.

      This form is now closed.