ACS Studio Prize 2026

Competition Description

ACS is excited to announce that the tenth iteration of the ACS Studio Prize is now open, offering a recent graduate the chance to win £6,000 to contribute to the cost of an artist’s studio in a UK city of their choice.

We are delighted to announce that this year’s Studio Prize will be judged by art dealer and historian Philip Mould OBE, artist and Director of the Lucian Freud Archive David Dawson, Director of the National Gallery Sir Gabriele Finaldi and the Chairman of ACS, Viscountess Bridgeman CBE.

The Studio Prize was established after a number of our members spoke of the economic challenges they faced when starting their artistic careers. ACS realises how difficult it is for recent graduates to focus on their art, especially after leaving university. The ACS Studio Prize was founded to help.

If you are a national of the UK, EEA, Australia or New Zealand and are an undergraduate or postgraduate university student on an accredited art course who is about to graduate, or if you have graduated from a university accredited art course within the last four years, and you work in pictures, collage, painting, sculpture, tapestry, ceramics, glassware or photography, then you are also eligible to apply for the prize.

Chairman of ACS Viscountess Bridgeman CBE: “The Studio Prize was set up in response to feedback from our member artists. Many told us of their difficulty in transitioning from a student to a professional artist, exacerbated by the struggle to find affordable studio space. This problem remains a serious issue in our current economic climate as rents rise at an alarming rate.”