Central Coast Council is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Gosford Art Prize, with $57,000 in prize pool money awarded to artists from across the Central Coast and beyond. The Prize was judged by artist Dean Cross and Sydney Gallery Director Sally Dan Cuthburt.
This year a record 1518 entries were entered from all states of Australia. Of those entries, 147 artworks were selected as finalists for exhibition.
Local artist Alacoque Dash took out the major prize, winning the prestigious title and $25,000 for her artwork The Long Goodbye II. The judges described the piece as “a delicate retelling of a personal story of loss through a beautiful and alluring work”.
Central Coast Mayor, Lawrie McKinna said the Gosford Art Prize is known for making a real difference to an artist’s career.
“The competition offers an exciting range of opportunities for visual artists working in any art form to showcase their work to a large audience and potentially become an acquisition of the Central Coast’s art collection,” Mayor McKinna said.
“Once again the calibre of artists from around the country was extremely high – however it was fantastic to see that the winner was local artist Alacoque Dash from East Gosford.
“20% of the finalists are also from the Central Coast, which shows the strength of the art scene on the Coast.”
Director of the Regional Gallery, Tim Braham said the selection panel aimed to include a variety of styles, content and techniques with fierce competition amongst a range of artwork.
I want to congratulate Alacoque Dash as the major winner and I would like to extend my congratulations to the other winners and the artists who entered from across Australia,” Mr Braham said.
“Events such as the annual Gosford Art Prize provide opportunities for both local and national artists to bring quality contemporary art to the Central Coast.”
The Gosford Art Prize has evolved from its humble beginning in the 70s and is now recognised as a significant national competition, with the other major winners this year coming from Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
The winners of the 2026 Gosford Art Prize are as follows:
• $25,000 Gosford Art Prize: Alacoque Dash – The Long Goodbye II, 2025
• $10,000 Moving Image Award: Esther Carlin – The Ghost of Mr Bawky, 2025
• $10,000 First Nations Award: Damien Shen – My Cuzzy Nate and the 654 Club
• $10,000 Ceramic Prize: Belinda Piggott – Tides of Renewal
• $1,000 Highly Commended: Harley Gleeson – Still Here
• $1,000 Highly Commended: Tara McIntosh – Someday (we will)
The ‘Viewer’s Choice Award’ – which will be decided by visitors to the Gallery voting on their favourite entry – will be announced at the end of the exhibition period. The winner will receive the honour plus $500 prize money.
The 2026 finalist exhibition will be on display from 26 September to 22 November 2026 at the Gosford Regional Gallery from 9.30am – 4pm daily, entry is free.
Media interviews and images are available with the winning artists and the Gallery Director. To arrange an interview please contact media@centralcoast.nsw.gov.au
For more information on the Gosford Art Prize and its winners, visit https://www.gosfordregionalgallery.com/