The Bridge Art Prize is back in 2026…
The Bridge Art Prize is back in 2026 following its extraordinary successful inaugural appearance on the Tasmanian arts scene last year.
Derwent Valley Arts (DVA) could not have dreamed of a better beginning to what is now forecast to grow into the Derwent Valley’s annual arts-focused celebration for many years to come. You can reflect on last year’s efforts here.
While the inaugural arts competition was about celebrating and commemorating the construction of the new Bridgewater Bridge, we now have an exciting chance to extend the prize beyond the original initiative. The second year of The Bridge competition is a chance to develop beyond the foundation that was aligned to the original construction and grow in a different direction.
The Bridge Art Prize 2026 theme — Load Bearing
Load Bearing is the theme for this second year of The Bridge Art Prize – still with a construction thread woven into the theme, but this time with a more human perspective.
Every structure depends on elements that carry weight or “bear the load”.
In architecture, something that bears the load also holds, supports, and stabilises. It allows movement, connection, and life to unfold around it. Often unnoticed, these points of strength make everything else possible.
Load Bearing invites artists to consider the forces that shape our lives - pressure and balance, support and strain, resilience and care – and the systems, relationship, and environments that sustain us.
Across disciplines and media, works may reflect on what it means to carry, to be carried, or to hold space for others. From the intimate to the collective, the visible to the unseen, the exhibition looks to the structures that underpin human experience.
In focusing on what supports us, Load Bearing offers a timely meditation on strength, connection, and shared responsibility.
Entries open Sunday 12 April and must be submitted by midnight Sunday 30 August.
Exhibition at The Ladies Cottage, New Norfolk from Friday 25 October to 22 November.
Art Prize Major Sponsors - Derwent Valley Arts, Ecosmart Engage and McConnell Dowell