Opportunities

Year of the Horse drawings – Sydney Lunar Festival 2026

Young illustrators aged 5 to 12 years can submit their best horse drawings to be showcased as part of the Sydney Lunar Festival.

Arts & cultureCreativity

In progress

  • Applications now open  
  • Apply by Monday 26 May 2025, 5pm Sydney time 
  • We’ll notify successful applicants by 13 June 2025 

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for vibrant, colourful drawings of horses that: 

  • celebrate the Lunar New Year 
  • are highly imaginative  
  • include performing, anything from dancing to juggling or singing 
  • hold a red envelope or lantern 
  • are happy, friendly, cheerful and cheeky 
  • are strong, bold, free-spirited and adventurous. 

Your drawing needs to stand out and be recognisable from a distance. The selected horse drawings will displayed outdoors during Sydney Lunar Festival 2026.  

Up to 2 different drawings can be submitted. 

Give your horse a name and in one sentence, provide a short description – does it have any special skills you can tell us about?

Drawing requirements

  • The horse drawing must be drawn in portrait orientation. Use A3 paper and make your drawing as large as possible on the page. 
  • Background colours or details aren’t required. The horse needs to be the feature of your artwork. 
  • Submissions can be drawn using any materials including pencils, paint, crayons or in a digital format, for example, Adobe Illustrator. 
  • We’ll only accept original artworks. You must not use artificial intelligence to create or develop the drawings.  

How to submit your drawings

  • Complete the entry form and attach a photo of each drawing. A smartphone photo is fine.
  • Keep the original drawings in a safe place. Selected drawings may need to be posted to us.
  • Make sure you read the terms and conditions before submitting your drawings.

Submit up to 2 drawings by 26 May

How we’ll use your drawing

If your drawing is selected, you’ll see it:

  • displayed outdoors in Haymarket during Sydney Lunar Festival 2026
  • printed on a t-shirt for you
  • included on the Year of the Horse sticker sheet.

You and your parent and/or guardian may also be invited to the Sydney Lunar Festival media opening.

Terms and conditions 

Please read the terms and conditions before submitting your drawings.  

A large, colourful lantern shaped like an origami snake sits on a plinth outside the Queen Victoria Building at night. It is lit from below by a bright white light, and its orange, violet, pink and blue translucent panels catch the light and seem to glow.Sydney Lunar Festival