the artist prize 2026

The Artist Prize is a new £30,000 open art prize awarded to a single UK-based artist, alongside a solo exhibition at Firstsite in 2028. There are no nominations and no gatekeepers. Any UK-based artist aged 18 or over can enter, regardless of career stage, location, background, or representation.

Twenty shortlisted artists will exhibit together at Firstsite from 30 January to 16 May 2027, with shipping and installation covered and an artist fee of £350 each. A further 200 longlisted artists will be selected by a national network of around 80 curators drawn from arts organisations across the UK, bringing distributed curatorial expertise to bear on what UK artists are making right now.