Art Writing Prize
The Foundation’s Art Writing Prize is unique in its approach to celebrating work which bridges the disciplines of art and writing.
One grant of £3,000 is made annually. These are intended to reward excellence and innovative work, provide financial assistance for the beneficiary which will help sustain their practice, and assist in the public dissemination of their work. Recipients are selected by a panel of field-leading artists, curators, art historians and critics.
Our judges for the 2026 edition of the Art Writing Prize are Artist Helen Cammock, Director of Wellcome Collection (2019-2026), Melanie Keen and Artist & Head of Programme MA Writing at the Royal College of Art London, Jeremy Millar.
©Laura Shacham
©Christa Holka
©Matilda Sodderland
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The Art Writing Prize seeks to discover and celebrate innovative forms of art writing. The term ‘art writing’ refers to forms of writerly practice that hold a central concern with the condition and possible forms of art making. It therefore encompasses writing that is about art — essays, reviews, criticism, fiction — as well as visual art which incorporates forms of writing, with submissions encouraged from artists, curators, art historians and critics, as well as other interdisciplinary practitioners.
The scheme is particularly interested in submissions which demonstrate innovative or experimental approach to form and/or engage different modes of witnessing, activation, or inquiry, as well as writing which opens dialogues with different modes of viewing, making, and remembering that might help shift expectations of the experience we identify as art.
Grants are made exclusively to individuals as well as collaborative or collective practices that produce work as a single identity and are not formally incorporated as an organisation of any charitable or commercial nature.
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The scheme is intended to benefit art writers at a critical juncture of their careers and to support practitioners who already demonstrate a capacity to produce work of an exceptional level but require external support for the development and dissemination of their practice.
Therefore, applicants must:
be resident in the UK and over the age of 18
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Applications for the 2026 Art Writing Prize are now open. Applications close on 31st August 2026 at midnight.
Submissions may combine images and words, but texts must be written in English and should not exceed 12,000 words (submissions of a much shorter length are encouraged).
Submissions must be emailed to submissions@emergingartfoundation.org in the form of a MS Word document or PDF. Entrants must also provide a CV, contact details, and a brief biographical statement of no more than 400 words which situates the submission in relation to their wider practice.
Applications may be accompanied by additional photographs or other images in the form of PDF or JPEG files.
If material has been submitted for another prize or grant scheme, this must be declared in the application. Please see below for further information.
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The number of good applications is likely to exceed the funding available so the following criteria are used in assessing submissions.
Work that is of exceptional quality and of broad interest and relevance to current discourses in contemporary art.
Work that expands understandings about interactions between art and art writing by demonstrating an innovative approach to questions of form and medium.
Work which shows a commitment to interdisciplinary approaches.
Work which addresses wide reaching questions around the major challenges of our time.
Work which has the potential to cultivate broader public interest in hybrid forms of contemporary art, expanding traditional modes of art making and/or writing.
Work that is of exceptional quality and of broad interest and relevance to current discourses in contemporary art.
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The decision of the judging panel will be announced towards the end of the year.