Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026 - Exhibition & Shortlist Announced &

TRINITY BUOY WHARF DRAWING PRIZE 2026 - Shortlist and Exhibition Announced

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026 of £15,000 will be announced on Wednesday 16 September at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London, along with the Trinity Buoy Wharf Student Drawing Award of £2,000, and Trinity Buoy Wharf Three Boroughs Drawing Award of £1,000 (open to those living and/or working in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Greenwich). 

92 drawings by 86 artists are shortlisted for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026 from an international submission by Matthew Burrows MBE, Sook-Kyung Lee and Anita Taylor.  The exhibition of shortlisted drawings is open daily from Thursday 17 September to Sunday 4 October 2026 at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London E14 0JY, before touring in the UK until 2027.

Known as the UK's most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing, the international call for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026 received 2,621 entries by 1,403 artists from 48 countries for the 2026 exhibition and awards.

The 92 shortlisted drawings are made by 86 artists living and working in the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales), Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Spain, and the USA. The selected drawings represent a diversity of contemporary drawing practice today, from modest and large-format works on paper to moving image and three-dimensional drawings that encompass an array of subject matter and content from observational and documentary drawing, social commentary, exploration of scientific systems, abstract and expressive depictions, storytelling, narratives, and reimagined worlds.

The Selection Panel comprised Matthew Burrows MBE, artist and founder of Artist Support Pledge, Sook-Kyung Lee, Director of the Whitworth and Professor of Curatorial Practices at The University of Manchester, and Professor Anita Taylor, artist, curator and Associate Vice Principal (Research & Innovation), University of Dundee.

The drawings shortlisted for Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026 are by:

Susan Absolon / Elisa Alaluusua / Iain Andrews / Lucy Austin / Fi Bailey / Jeanette Barnes / Sharon Beavan / Vivien Blackett / Mandy Bonnell / Jane Bottery / Sian Bowen / Ruth Brumby / Lucinda Burgess / Caroline Burraway / Richard Burton / Robbie Bushe / Stephen Carley / Annie Cattrell / Louise Cattrell / Jung-Geun Choi / Liz Coxford / Yvonne Crossley / Kelly Cumberland / Adam Dant / Toni Davey / Jane Dixon / Steven Dixon / Sarah Duncan / Roy Eastland / Bella Easton / Kristian Evju / Sophie Firth / Charlie Ford / Efe Gago / Greg Genestine-Charlton / Ann Gillies / The Baron Gilvan / Andy Gomez / Aron Greenwood / Richard Gregory / Nick Grellier / Elena Grossi / Lee Hardman / Russell Herron / Harriet Mena Hill / Tracy Hill / Charlotte Hodes / Lucie Holzer / Alanna Luz Hutton / Christopher Jones / Nick Kennedy / Gary Lawrence / M Lohrum / Juliette Losq / William Lowry / Norman Mathieson / Heather McAteer / Kate McDonnell / Janet Melrose / George Meyrick / Jim Mooney / Tamsin Nagel / Simon Page / Patricia Paolozzi Cain / Lalinthorn Phencharoen / Sandra Porter / Dan Roach / Lewis Robinson / Clive Rose / Eunice Routledge / Paul Ryan / Minty Sainsbury / Solveig Settemsdal / Maggie Shafran / Chris Shaw Hughes / Stuart Shearer / Mark Shields / David Symonds / Sarah Tew / Chris Thomas / Jonathan Waller / Calum Wallis / Hannah Wu / Qinlin Yang / Trevor Youdale / Zhi Qian Jacqueline Yu

"I can see how artists approached drawing as a medium, but also a method, and it's quite amazing to see such variety and diversity of understanding and interpretation." said Sook-Kyung Lee, Director of the Whitworth, The University of Manchester. "Drawing is probably one of the oldest forms of art, and it crosses time, regions and cultures," she added. "You can see different ways of looking at, and capturing, different moments in our lives in these drawings."

"The diversity and breadth of work has been really astonishing," said Matthew Burrows MBE, Artist and Founder of Artist Support Pledge. "It's a tour de force of ideas and of experiences - from life and death to joy and birth.Anyone can pick up a piece of paper and a pencil and make a mark on a surface," he said. "By repeatedly doing that, and looking at it and thinking about it, we learn to see. That's what this prize is really about." 

"It's been a real privilege to be on this side of the selection process this year, and to have the joy of discussing, debating, and being in dialogue with the drawings submitted," said Anita Taylor, selector, and founding Director of the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. “The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize presents a wonderful annual snapshot of drawing practice" she continued. "I would encourage everyone to come to see the exhibition, to experience the drawings on show, to reflect on the role of drawing in contemporary art and life."

The Exhibition Launch & Awards Announcement at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London takes place on Wednesday 16 September 2026 from 6.30pm, with the Awards Announcements at 7pm.

Three awards with a total cash value of £18,000, will be announced:

- Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026 of £15,000
- Trinity Buoy Wharf Student Award of £2,000
- Trinity Buoy Wharf Three Boroughs' Award of £1,000 (open to those living and/or working in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Greenwich)

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2026 exhibition is open to the public from Thursday 17 September to Sunday 4 October 2026, 11am - 6pm daily, free entry, and will then tour until summer 2027. Accompanying the exhibition will be a fully illustrated Exhibition Publication, an Education Pack, and a public engagement programme including a Symposium on Thursday 17 September at Trinity Buoy Wharf.

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize has an established reputation as the UK's most important annual open exhibition for drawing. Established in 1994 by artist and Professor, Anita Taylor, founding Director of Drawing Projects UK as well as the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, which aims to celebrate the role and value of drawing. The exhibition provides an important platform for artists and other drawing practitioners, as a catalyst within their careers, and champions the role, value and diversity of drawing in creative practices today.

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize is supported by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust - 2026 marks the ninth year of their generous support for the annual open drawing exhibition and awards. The Trust has provided additional support in 2026 for the educational programme, including the Education Pack, Symposium, Drawing Sessions and Drawing Discussions during the exhibition at Trinity Buoy Wharf.

Images of all 92 drawings are available and will be reproduced in the fully illustrated publication.

Illustrated here: 
Vivien Blackett, Rock River, Spiky Plants, 2026, gouache and pastel on paper (top)
Sharon Beavan, Composite Drawing: Table Top with Glass Ornament and Candlestick, 2023-25, pencil on paper (middle)
M.Lohrum, Laundresses, 2026, participative performative drawing, moving image, 7 min : 16 sec [still shown] (below)

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