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.
The Artist Prize celebrates artists from across the UK, irrespective of medium, location, background, or connections. It’s not about who you know, what you studied, or how long you’ve been practising.
The competition is open to:
o UK-based artists (England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland).
o Aged 18 or over.
o All career stages welcome – no formal qualifications required.
o Work created within the last two years of the submission deadline (on or after 8 July 2024).
The deadline for entries is midday (12 noon) on Wednesday 8th July 2026.
Please note that the following entry fees apply for the competition: Fees are tiered to reward earlier entries, and bundle pricing reduces the per-work cost if you’re submitting more than one.
1. Early Bird (until Thursday 11th June, midday) – £10 for 1 work / £18 for 2 / £24 for 3.
2, Standard (until Thursday 2nd July, midday) – £14 for 1 work / £24 for 2 / £30 for 3.
3. Late (until Wednesday 8th July, midday) – £18 for 1 work / £30 for 2 / £39 for 3.
20 shortlisted artists will exhibit together at Firstsite from Saturday 30th January to Sunday 16th 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.
What you can win:
1. Winner – £30,000 in cash and a solo exhibition at Firstsite in 2028.
2. Shortlist (20 artists) – a group exhibition at Firstsite from 30 January to 16 May 2027, with shipping covered up to £1,000 per artist and a £350 artist fee.
3. Longlist (200 artists) – national recognition via prize communications and inclusion in our impact report on UK artistic practice.
Categories
Work can be submitted into one of six categories:
1. Painting & Drawing.
2. Photography & Printmaking.
3. Sculpture & Installation.
4. Digital, Video & New Media.
5. Performance, or
6. Mixed Media & Other.
All visual art mediums are welcome. Categories exist so the right judges see the right work, not to limit what counts as art.
For further information about The Artist Prize and how to enter, please visit the competition website.
The Artist Prize has been co-founded by Guy Armitage of Zealous and Sally Shaw MBE (Firstsite, Museum of the Year 2021).
