The Artist Prize
Learn how you can start your submission here
Audiences disengage when prizes lean heavily on conceptual work. Talented artists outside established circles get passed over. And cultural institutions are increasingly caught between stretching public funding further than it can reasonably go.
British arts needs more routes to recognition. Exceptional work should be celebrated on its merits. Communities should have a genuine say in what artistic excellence looks like. And institutions need funding models that actually let them thrive – not just survive – so they can serve their communities and broaden the scope of what they do.
We think the next generation of UK art prizes can be built differently, with communities at the centre. That accessibility and excellence aren’t in tension. That a voice from a small town matters as much as one from a major city. That when the arts better reflect the full range of our population, they open up richer conversations about the society we all share, and bring new people into institutions that need them.
That’s why Guy Armitage (Zealous) and Sally Shaw (Firstsite) created The Artist Prize: a prize designed to be financially sustainable for public institutions, and open to every UK artist — regardless of who they know, where they live, or where they come from.
£30,000 for the winner. £10 to enter. Completely open source. Any artist, anywhere.
We’re demonstrating that cultural institutions don’t have to choose between artistic integrity and financial survival, and that accessibility and excellence are not, and never were, opposites.
“Recognition isn’t a reliable measure of talent. The Artist Prize is trying to fix that.”
Guy Armitage
The Prize Structure
- Winner: £30,000 and a solo exhibition at Firstsite (2028)
- Shortlist: 20 artists receive a group exhibition at Firstsite with shipping costs covered (2027)
- Longlist: 200 artists selected by national curatorial network
Fees
To fund the prize, we are having to charge an entry fee. To learn more about why entry fees exist, you can read more here.
The fee structure is as follows:
Early Bird
- 1 entry – £10 (£10 per entry)
- 2 entries – £18 (£9 per entry)
- 3 entries – £24 (£8 per entry)
Standard:
- 1 entry – £14 (£14 per entry)
- 2 entries – £24 (£12 per entry)
- 3 entries – £30 (£10 per entry)
Late:
- 1 entry – £18 (£18 per entry)
- 2 entries – £30 (£15 per entry)
- 3 entries – £39 (£13 per entry)
Eligibility Criteria
- UK-based artists
- Must be existing work
- All mediums welcome
- All career stages welcome
- No formal qualifications required
- Aged 18+
How will the judging process work?
Curators and Artistic Directors from all ACE-funded arts organizations across the UK are invited to participate in scoring submissions. This creates true national representation and builds the prize on the collective expertise of the national arts infrastructure. The highest-scoring entries proceed to the shortlist exhibition.
High profile judges will then pick the 20 shortlisted and showcased at Firstsite from 200 longlisted entries, before picking a final winner at the Firstsite exhibition.
The work will be judged on the following criteria:
Execution
How effectively has the artist realized their work? Consider craft, technical skill, and whether the work achieves what it sets out to do. Recognise that “well-executed” looks different for a performance, a painting, or a participatory project.
Concept
The depth and clarity of the artistic idea. Consider intellectual rigor, emotional resonance, and how fully the concept has been developed.
Impact
The work’s power and significance. Does it create something greater than its parts? Does it feel urgent, relevant, or culturally important right now?
