Published on Friday, 11 September 2026 at 4:07:59 PM
Artist Tanya van Irsen has taken home the $15,000 Acquisitional Major Prize at the 2026 City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Art Prize for her work Vestige, inspired by the red dust and mining history of Kookynie.
The winners were announced at the official Art Prize Awards evening at the Goldfields Arts Centre tonight, with artists, supporters, families and art lovers coming together to celebrate this year’s exhibition.
The judges described Vestige as a delicate and visually compelling installation that offers an unexpected perspective on the landscape, taking viewers on a contemplative journey and encouraging reflection on our shared relationship with the land.
Mayor Glenn Wilson said the Art Prize remained an important part of Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s arts and cultural calendar, attracting artists from across the Goldfields, Perth and interstate.
“This year, we received 152 entries from artists across the Goldfields, Perth and interstate,” Mayor Wilson said.
“That’s a great result and shows that Kalgoorlie-Boulder remains home to one of the most prestigious regional art competitions in the country.
“It’s also a great opportunity for our local artists to have their work exhibited alongside artists from Perth and interstate, and for our community to experience an exhibition of this calibre right here at home.
“You can always feel the pride and excitement when the winners are announced, but the Art Prize is about much more than one night.
“The Art Prize is an important part of our arts community, and it has also helped lay the foundations for KALeidoscope, the City’s hallmark arts and culture festival, which returns for its second year this October.
“KALeidoscope is about celebrating the creativity, culture and stories that make Kalgoorlie-Boulder what it is, and the Art Prize is a big part of that.”
Mayor Wilson said this year’s Art Prize also offered visitors the chance to view works from the City’s Art Collection at Boulder Town Hall.
“As a complementary part of this year’s Art Prize, people can visit Boulder Town Hall to see Selected: From Prize to Collection, featuring works acquired by the City through previous Art Prizes,” he said.
“Boulder Town Hall was home to the Art Prize for many years, so it’s fitting to be able to look back at some of the works that have become part of the City’s collection while also enjoying this year’s exhibition at the Goldfields Arts Centre.
“It’s a great opportunity to see where the Art Prize has come from, and the legacy it has created over the years.”
Mayor Wilson congratulated Tanya van Irsen and all artists who entered this year’s competition.
“Congratulations to Tanya and to all of this year’s artists. Putting your work out there for people to look at, judge and discuss takes a fair bit of courage, and being part of this exhibition is something to be proud of.”
The 2026 exhibition features an exceptional range of works from artists across Australia, with artists competing for a share of the $40,000 prize pool across ten categories.
2026 Category Winners
Acquisitional Major Prize
- Vestige by Tanya van Irsen
Judges’ Comments: This delicate work provides an unexpected perspective of landscape, by documenting the human traces left upon it. While relating a personal story, it leads the viewer on a contemplative journey in consideration of our universal relationship to the land. It is highly relatable due to the artist’s process – the simple action of rubbing that we all engaged in as children - and as an installation it forms a visually compelling mini landscape of its own.
Artwork by a Kalgoorlie-Boulder Artist
- Native Hop Bush (Dodonaea viscosa) by M. Ellen Burns
Judges’ Comments: This photographic work engages the senses and the imagination. Relating an intimate, personal journey with a particular element from the ecosystem, the viewer can really smell, feel and taste the subject matter.
First Nations Art Award
- Dancing With The Fire by WA Artist
Judges’ Comments: This arresting canvas presents a mesmerising depiction of expansive personal, culturally-informed understandings of reality.
Painting Award
- Uprooted by Miriam Cano Nieto
Judges’ Comments: In an award with so many strong contenders for ‘best painting’, the judges were impressed by this small, unassuming work which nonetheless evoked such a deep somatic response in its depiction of a universal symbol.
Photography Award
- Transients by Scott Fisher
Judges’ Comments: The work makes innovative use of the photographic medium and takes a wonderfully poetic approach to landscape, transforming a burnt tree into the flock of birds that may have once taken refuge in its branches.
Works on Paper Award
Judges’ Comments: This diminutive but impeccably rendered work acts as a portal into someone’s life story, resulting in a deeply personal, but also relatable image.
Mixed Media and Textile Award
- Lightening Locket by Jenelle Basten
Judges’ Comments: This striking and intimate work displays impressive skill in its use of a laborious and highly technical medium to relate a poignant personal narrative.
3D Sculpture Award
- Iron and Lace Jugs II by Juliet Tang
Judges’ Comments: We were captivated by the artist’s unique process and the work’s concept relating to motherhood and female identity.
Young Artist Award
- The Long Path by Hamish Darveniza
Judges’ Comments: We were impressed by the highly skilled execution by a young artist. The work evocatively captures the environmental conditions of the Albany coastline.
The exhibition is free and open to the public, Monday to Sunday, 10am to 3pm at the Goldfields Arts Centre until Friday, 16 October 2026, excluding public holidays.
Visitors are encouraged to vote for their favourite artwork in the People’s Choice Award, which will be announced at the conclusion of the exhibition.
2026 Art Prize Winners
View the winners and take a live tour of the exhibition.
Click here
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