Winners announced for 2026 Ravenswood Art Prize

Sydney-based artist Monica Rani Rudhar has won the 2026 Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize for her ceramic work “When both shall meet”, taking home the $35,000 Professional Artist Prize – Australia’s highest-value art prize for women.

Judge and Art Prize Patron Jade Oakley described the winning work as a refreshingly contemporary engagement with cultural heritage – an overscaled tribute to traditional Indian jewellery that speaks to cultural identity and the intimacy of love between mother and daughter, husband and wife.

The Emerging Artist Prize ($7,500), supported by the Reed Family Foundation, went to Jane Burton Taylor for her paper bark work Colonial Waistcoat, which the judges called a reimagining of colonial history and a spark for renewed conversation about Australia’s past.

The Indigenous Emerging Artist Prize ($7,500), supported by the Guardian and Scarborough Foundation, was awarded to Northern Territory artist Stephanie Bush for her acrylic on canvas Papa Tjukurrpa-Nyumannu – a work the judges said feels alive with energy, inviting viewers into patterns framed within patterns.

Highly Commended:

Professional – Elvis Richardson (Settlement #9) and Anna Mould (Silk State)
Emerging – Jane Michaele Cameron (Bull ant Umwelt III) and Lily Mortensen (Aquarium Nocturne)
Indigenous Emerging – Bryella Garmanjan Farrell (Where Saltwater Meets Freshwater) and Merrkiyawuy #2 Munuŋgurr (Dhatam (Lillies))

Selected from 1,750 entries, the 103 finalists represent every state and territory. Now in its tenth year, the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize has drawn close to 15,100 entries since its inception in 2017, cementing its place as a defining platform for women artists in Australia.

The 2026 Exhibition of Finalists is free and open to the public, Thursday to Sunday, 10am–4pm, 16–31 May at Ravenswood School for Girls, Gate 3, 10 Henry Street, Gordon NSW. A virtual tour is available at ravenswoodartprize.com.au