The search for Australia’s Portrait Artist of the Year begins this November on the ABC.

Watch a first look clip HERE

Hosted by Miranda Tapsell and Luke McGregor, Portrait Artist of the Year celebrates creativity and extraordinary talent from across Australia. The joyful and inspiring eight-part series premieres Sunday 2 November, 8pm on ABC TV, with all episodes available to stream for free on ABC iview.

The series explores one of the most accessible and provocative forms of art – the portrait. A selection of Australia's most talented amateur and professional artists will be challenged to capture the likeness and spirit of some of the nation's most recognisable and intriguing personalities, including Maggie Beer AO, Costa Georgiadis, Ken Done AM, Tsehay Hawkins, Courtney Act, Margaret Pomeranz AM, Celia Pacquola, Myf Warhurst, Mark Coles Smith, Talijah Blackman-Corowa, Rhys Nicholson, Adam Liaw, Amanda Keller OAM, Madison de Rozario OAM, Matt Okine, Frank Finger, Alex Lee, Chloe Hayden, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki AM, and Denise Scott AM.

The artists are tasked, in front of a live audience, to paint a portrait of the sitter in just four hours, after which their work is judged by a panel of three renowned Australian art authorities; Director of the National Portrait Gallery, Bree Pickering; award winning, multi-disciplinary artist, Abdul Abdullah; and Associate Professor of Art History at the Australian National University (ANU), Robert Wellington.

Each sitter arrives with a treasured personal item, inviting the artist to weave something deeply meaningful into their portrait. Viewers will gain a rare window into the artists’ process and skill – witnessing the magic of blank canvases turning into finished portraits.

At the end of each heat, the sitter will select their favourite portrait to keep. Meanwhile, the judges will choose a Top 3, and from those, one artist advances to the semi-final. From six semi-finalists plus one wildcard, the field will narrow to three finalists. The winning artist will be awarded a career-defining commission, with their work displayed in the National Portrait Gallery of Australia.

Always free, always entertaining, discover a range of arts programming on  ABC iview now.

Production credits:

Portrait Artist of the Year is produced by Endemol Shine Australia (a Banijay Entertainment company) for ABC. Executive Producer: David McDonald.  Series Producer: Maria Handas.

Post Executive Producer: Kate Feely. Director: Kate Douglas Walker. ABC Head of Arts, Music and Events: Kath Earle.  ABC Commissioning Editor: Rachel Robinson.

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.