Portrait Artist of the Year renewed for season 3 on ABC as applications open – Easels are being readied for another national search, with ABC and Endemol Shine Australia confirming the arts competition will return to ABC TV and ABC iview in 2027.
Miranda Tapsell and Luke McGregor will return as hosts, while applications are now open to amateur, emerging and professional artists from around Australia. Once selected, competitors will have four hours to capture a surprise celebrity sitter and work towards a major commission for the National Portrait Gallery.
The renewal gives ABC another season of a programme that has combined accessible entertainment with a national showcase for working artists. It also creates a substantial free-to-air platform for portraiture: 54 artists appear across a season, supported by feedback from established figures in Australian art and art history.
Returning hosts and judges
Tapsell and McGregor will again guide the artists through the competition. National Portrait Gallery director Bree Pickering, award-winning multidisciplinary artist Abdul Abdullah and Australian National University associate professor of art history Robert Wellington also return to assess the portraits and share their expertise.
The third season will introduce a fresh group of high-profile sitters. Artists compete first in live heats, where they have four hours to complete a portrait. Heat winners advance to the semi-final, before three finalists compete for the overall prize: a prestigious commission for the National Portrait Gallery collection.
ABC Head of Arts, Music and Events Kath Earle said the programme placed 54 Australian artists in the spotlight each season and brought the arts into living rooms around the country. She added that watching a portrait take shape in four hours never lost its appeal.
Endemol Shine Australia Director of Comedy David McDonald described the series as warm, insightful and emotional. He said it had revealed some of the country’s finest artists and would continue celebrating raw talent alongside its returning hosts and judges.
Audience success and AACTA recognition
Portrait Artist of the Year won the 2025 AACTA Award for Best Entertainment Program. Across its first two seasons, it averaged more than one million viewers per episode, according to OzTAM VOZ National Total TV data cited by ABC. The launches of seasons one and two each attracted audiences above 1.4 million.
Those figures make the third-season commission more than a specialist arts renewal. The series has found a broad television audience while introducing viewers to artists at different career stages and showing the decisions, revisions and pressure behind a finished portrait.
How artists can apply
Applications are open to Australian citizens and permanent residents who will be at least 16 years old on 1 September 2026. Entrants can work in traditional painting and drawing media, but photography, sculpture, video and digital-media artworks are not eligible for the competition.
Applicants need to provide a recent self-portrait, a photograph of another painting, an optional third example of their work, a headshot and a short introductory video about their interest in portraiture. Shortlisted artists will be invited to the live heats.
The public application information says prospective contestants must be available for up to four filming days between 22 February and 6 March 2027. Production will cover Australian travel and accommodation costs for artists who are selected for the programme.
Production details
Portrait Artist of the Year is produced by Endemol Shine Australia, part of Banijay Entertainment, for ABC. David McDonald is executive producer, Kath Earle is ABC Head of Arts, Music and Events, and Rachel Robinson is ABC commissioning editor.
ABC has not yet announced a premiere date for season three beyond its 2027 broadcast window. Seasons one and two remain available to stream on ABC iview.
For more TV Central ABC news, head here. Artists can review the eligibility requirements and apply for Portrait Artist of the Year season three.
