Women in Art Prize 2026

The Women in Art Prize has announced the winners of its ninth annual awards, celebrating women artists working across painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, digital and moving image, as well as creating opportunities for exhibition, mentoring, residencies and international artist development.

The 2026 awards ceremony took place at the Pigott Theatre at the British Library in London on 16 September, bringing together artists, curators, gallery directors, collectors and figures from across the wider art and cultural sectors.

Daler-Rowney was proud to support this year’s Young Woman in Art Prize, awarded to Nadia Zekouki Andres for The Weight of Rest.

The Women in Art Prize is a Community Interest Company (CIC) dedicated to supporting and celebrating women artists through awards, exhibitions, mentoring and international engagement.

Now approaching its tenth anniversary, the organisation has developed a programme that extends well beyond an annual competition. Its awards recognise artists working across a broad range of disciplines, while the opportunities attached to the prizes are designed to help artists develop their practices, gain professional experience and connect with new audiences.
The 2026 programme included awards for digital and moving image, photography, sculpture, printmaking, painting and international practice, alongside prizes focused on particular stages and areas of an artist’s career.

These included the Eve Arnold Photography Prize, Fitzjohn’s Mature Artist Prize, Susan Angoy Artists of African & Caribbean Heritage Prize, Young Woman in Art Prize, Hosking Houses Trust Residency Prize and Tim May Mentoring Programme Award.

Other prizes offered exhibition opportunities, international exchange and artist development. The Women in Art Prize x Synonym Gallery Artist Development Award, for example, is a new partnership providing an emerging woman artist based in Mexico with the opportunity to create a commissioned public artwork in Mexico City, exhibit with Synonym Gallery and participate in Mexico City Art Week 2027.

The programme demonstrates the range of ways Women in Art works to support artists, from financial awards and materials through to exhibitions, residencies, mentoring and international opportunities.

Women in Art’s work is also supported by a substantial online community. Across its Women in Art and Women in Art Prize platforms, the organisation has a combined social media following of more than 530,000, with more than 26 million monthly views, connecting artists and audiences internationally.

Its partnerships further extend the reach of the programme. Women in Art continues to work with COOC Arts & Culture at The Mandrake Hotel, presenting exhibitions and artist presentations featuring prize winners and finalists. These opportunities allow artists to continue building visibility and connections after the awards ceremony itself.

The organisation’s 2026 programme also brought together a broad network of art-world partners, including Mall Galleries, Photo London, Hampstead School of Art, Printed Editions, The Eve Arnold Estate, Synonym Gallery and others.

As Gabrielle du Plooy, Director of the Women in Art Prize, explains:
“We are incredibly proud to continue expanding the opportunities we offer artists. From financial awards to international residencies and mentoring, our goal is to create lasting impact and meaningful pathways for women in the arts.”

This year’s winners represented a wide range of artistic practices:

• Digital & Moving Image Prize: Yichu Li, Yichu 1.0
• Eve Arnold Photography Prize: Yang Zhou, Faërie V
• Sculpture Prize: Abi Joy Samuel, So Very Far Off, Lie More Ruins
• Printmaking Prize: Deborah Hercun, Ombrello
• Overseas Artist Prize: Sierra Merda, VVITCH
• Young Woman in Art Prize: Nadia Zekouki Andres, The Weight of Rest
• Fitzjohn’s Mature Artist Prize: Jane Andrews, Something Dreadful This Way Comes
• Tim May Mentoring Programme Award: Venetta Nicole, Faraway
• Susan Angoy Artists of African & Caribbean Heritage Prize: Eve Morrison, I Have a Dream
• Painting Prize: Abby Hope Skinner, Vigil

Alongside the main prizes, the 2026 programme included exhibition and gallery awards, including the Georgina Pounds Gallery Award, presented to Nadia Zekouki Andres, Haohao Huang and Poppy Tingay.

Daler-Rowney supported the Young Woman in Art Prize, which recognises an artist aged 25 and under.

This year’s prize was awarded to Nadia Zekouki Andres for The Weight of Rest, with the award presented on stage at the British Library by Nicky Della Mote.

Nicky was also an esteemed judge on the WIAP 2026 judging panel. A curator committed to championing emerging and underrepresented artists, Nicky is Head of International Social Commitment at Chanel. Her involvement in both the judging process and presentation of the award brought together the work of the judging panel with the celebration of this year’s recipient.

Nadia receives £1,000 worth of professional art materials from the Daler-Rowney family of brands, together with a one-week artist residency in Bracknell.

The materials award can be tailored to the artist’s practice, providing the opportunity to select from a range of art materials and surfaces across the Daler-Rowney family of brands.

Nadia Zekouki Andres was selected as the recipient of this year’s Young Woman in Art Prize for The Weight of Rest.

“Receiving the Daler-Rowney Young Woman in Art Prize for The Weight of Rest was such a wonderful surprise. I’m a self-taught oil painter and started painting a couple of years ago as another form of journaling. Since then, my work has grown into a series exploring rest, memory and interior spaces.

When I first started, I had support from others, including people gifting me oil paints so I could keep exploring the medium. To now receive this prize and have Daler-Rowney support my work feels like a meaningful moment in that journey.

I’m looking forward to using the materials for new paintings and having a week at the residency to experiment with ideas for the opportunities ahead.

I’m very grateful to Daler-Rowney for this opportunity. You can follow my work on Instagram @n.andresz.”

Her work was also recognised with the Georgina Pounds Gallery Award, alongside works by Haohao Huang and Poppy Tingay. The award includes participation in the gallery’s booth at Zona Maco Art Fair in Mexico City in February 2027, providing another opportunity for the artists to present their work to an international audience.

Nadia’s recognition comes as part of a 2026 programme that brings together artists working across very different disciplines and at different points in their careers.

The Women in Art Prize’s focus on emerging artists is particularly evident through awards such as the Young Woman in Art Prize, while its wider programme also recognises established practitioners and artists returning to their creative practice later in life.

The 2026 ceremony also introduced a new element created specifically for this year’s awards: bespoke Women in Art Prize trophies by British contemporary sculptor Gwenda Jones ARBSA.

Each ceramic trophy was individually handcrafted through a process of making, glazing and multiple firings. Rather than being a conventional award, the sculptures were conceived as works of art in their own right, created by one artist to celebrate the achievements of fellow artists.

The ceremony was hosted by Arngunnur Aegisdottir, Creative Director of Mall Galleries and Chairwoman of the Women in Art Prize.

Awards were presented by figures from across the art and cultural sectors, including BAFTA-nominated actress and BAFTA-winning executive producer Alix Wilton Regan, Photo London Director Sophie Parker, Frieze Sculpture curator Fatoş Üstek, and representatives from galleries, cultural organisations and partner institutions.

The judging panel was chaired by Gabrielle du Plooy and brought together curators, gallery directors, collectors, museum and arts professionals and artists from organisations including Mall Galleries, Saatchi Yates Gallery, Photo London, Chanel, Synonym Gallery, The Art Academy, Hampstead School of Art and Spinocchia Freund.

As Women in Art Prize approaches its tenth anniversary, its 2026 programme reflects the organisation’s continued expansion from an annual awards programme into a wider network of opportunities for women artists.

From financial awards and professional art materials to residencies, mentoring, exhibitions and international partnerships, the programme provides different forms of support for artists at different points in their careers.

For Daler-Rowney, supporting the Young Woman in Art Prize is an opportunity to contribute to that wider programme and provide practical materials and residency time to an emerging artist.

Congratulations to Nadia Zekouki Andres on winning the 2026 Daler-Rowney Young Woman in Art Prize for The Weight of Rest, and to all this year’s Women in Art Prize winners and finalists.

To find out more about the Women in Art Prize and its programme of awards and opportunities, visit: https://womeninartprizecic.com/