2026 Winners

The Grand Prize Award is determined by the general public who cast their votes on eligible ArtPrize entries spanning across all categories of art and design throughout the duration of the event, This is a publicly juried prize, recognizing the aesthetic opinion of over 900,000 attendees. Voters also select category award winners within each of six categories: 2D, 3D, Installation, Time-Based, New Media, and +Design.

Along with public and peer selected winning entries, ArtPrize engages a select group of notable critics, curators, educators, and gallerists to consider all entries and select one outstanding Artist’s work to be recognized as the Juried Grand Prize selection.

"The ArtPrize entry par excellence. A super-human obsession to craft, resulting in a momentous accomplishment that bridges history to our still uncertain future with grace, power, and painful honesty. The chance to step into Horvath's carefully crafted illusion is to enter a heightened, and necessary, encounter with the fragility of our place in the world."

"The concept, craftsmanship, and presentation of Emily Mayo’s work are exceptional. Her charcoal figures explore motherhood with sensitivity, while the historical references add an intriguing layer of depth to the work."

"I selected The Appreciation Project because it has so many of the things I love about art. There is an incredible amount of skill in the work, but it also feels joyful, curious, playful, and engaging. I was immediately drawn to the color and detail, and the more time I spent with it, the more there was to discover. It is the kind of work that makes you want to keep looking, exploring, and finding something new. What I love most is that you can feel the artist’s own curiosity and joy in making the work. There is a real sense of wonder here, and that feeling extends to the viewer. It is beautifully made, incredibly thoughtful, and genuinely delightful to experience. There is something really special about encountering a work that is so clearly made with skill and intention, but also with a genuine love of creating. That joy comes through in every detail and ultimately made this work stand out to me."

"This installation addresses a very urgent topic of our time: the catastrophic way ICE is terrorizing immigrant communities. The work feels a little rough and haphazard, but in a way that highlights the urgency of the issue at hand. I found it deeply moving."

"Ruby Duimstra's performance in Lady of The (boiler) House represents the best of what ArtPrize has to offer: it is both accessible to everyone, yet challenges anyone looking for an easy answer to the questions posed."

"This is the best piece I saw at ArtPrize. It is urgent, witty, and self-aware. I hope the artist makes more work. This work has an keen edge for dissecting the cultural present. Provocative, energized, and disarming. The emotional swings that this work expertly drives are incredible: between laugh-out-loud moments to those of extreme discomfort feeling seen, its not subtle - its unforgettable."

"The power of the location, the implementation, the statement and intention made this a stand out to me."

"Amelia's Glass Between Us was an incredible expression and re-use of a material destined for the landfill. She took something that people once had a negative experience with, Covid plexiglass barriers, and gave them a new life and purpose. The garments had a delicate and intricate look to them but to the wearer were likely heavy and uncomfortable. I saw this as a metaphor for the viewer to consider what it means to carry what a crisis leaves behind. A material that once separated us now is being worn and lived with in a beautiful way. This was an incredible expression of design: shaping how life is felt, not just how it looks."