Over the years, The Awards evolved into four categories - Portrait, Landscape, Mobile and Student - forming the heart of the festival and for which the Head On Foundation has awarded over $500,000 in cash and product.
A diverse group of creative industry practitioners select work without artists' names so the judging focusses on merit bringing together both newly unearthed and established Australian and International talent.
The judging panel changes each year resulting in exhibitions that are unpredictable and diverse from year to year.
Judges in 2018 were Jonny Weeks, David Dare Parker, Nataline Colonnello, Paula Bronstein, Mikko Takkunen, Nancy Borowick, James Whitlow Delano, Marcus Lyon, Cherie McNair, Alasdair Foster, Katrin Koenning, Louise Heilpern, Moshe Rosenzveig OAM.
Adam Ferguson, Alex Frayne, Alfio Tommasini, Alireza Fani, Anne Nobels, Berber Theunissen, Boy Surminski, Candy Goldsmith, Cathy Carter, Coco Amardeil, Daniel Ochoa de Olza, David Hahn, Federico Viegener, Franky Tsang, Hubert Czajkowski, Ingerid Jordal, Irmina Walczak & Sávio Freire, Jake Nowakowski, Javier Arcenillas, Jean-Francois Bouchard, Jouk Oosterhof, Karen Lawton, Karl Mancini, Kate Geraghty, Krystle Ricci, Lauren Horwood, Len Metcalf, Liz Ham, Marinka Masseus, Patrick Gries, Paul Mason, Rowena Meadows, Sam Ruttyn, Shea Kirk, Susan Copen Oken, Susannah Tosh, Tariq Zaidi, Tatsuo Suzuki, Tony Kearney, Yana Vasilyeva.
Al Wildey, Alex Yoong Wah Wong, Alice Blanch, Brett Florence, Brydie Piaf, Chloe van Dorp, Chris Round, Christian Fletcher, Christian Spencer, Daniel Ochoa de Olza, Federico Rekowski, Grayson Cooke, Heejung Kim, Ignacio Palacios, Jamey Stillings, Janet Tavener, Jasmine Poole, Jodi Woodward, Joey Corcoran, Jonathan May, Leah Kennedy, Loulou McPhee, Lynn Clayton, Magali Chesnel, Marko Kokic, Matthew Borowick, Matthew Portch, Michael Garbutt, Mike Wall, Noni Carroll, Oded Wagenstein, Palani Mohan, Philip Bell, Philip Myers, Roger Grasas, Ryo Yamauchi, Simon Harsent, Stephen Pierce, Tom Putt, Tony Hewitt.
Alexander Moffatt, Andrew Quilty, Candy Goldsmith, Douwe Dijkstra, Fulvio Bugani, John Platt, Jovis Thean, Judith Parrott, Kaja Tasevska, Kate Bowman, Lauren Elise Barlow, Lulu Pinkus, Martine Lanser, Massimiliano Balo, Massimo Barberio, Mehrdad Naraghi, Paul Blackmore, Paul McMillan, Philip Myers, Pier Luigi Dodi, Rob Roy, Sarah Fairbanks, Sharon Hughes, Stephane Milbank, Suhaimi Abdullah, Tina Smigielski, Turi Calafato, Wendy Goodwin, Zay Yar Lin, Zoe Lawson.