Published on Saturday, 29 August 2026 at 12:50:00 PM
Art Gallery Archive
The Shire of Carnarvon was proud to present the Gascoyne Art Awards 2026 (GAA26), a free, eight-week exhibition celebrating our region's unique creativity and culture. The gallery doors have closed on GAA26, and what a celebration it was.
GAA26 gave the community a special opportunity to connect and engage with the Arts, and to celebrate the Shire of Carnarvon and Gascoyne Region as a place of creativity and culture. Open to all Western Australian artists aged 16 and above, both emerging and established, the awards featured entries across six categories and a wide variety of mediums and styles, including drawings, paintings, sculptures and ceramics.
The exhibition opened on 3 July 2026 at the Shire of Carnarvon Library and Art Gallery, 18 Egan Street, Carnarvon, and ran for eight weeks alongside a creative program, before concluding with the closing event and People's Choice Award.
The Gascoyne Art Awards has been running since 1984, and the Shire of Carnarvon gives credit to the Gascoyne Arts Society (nee Gascoyne Arts Council), whose voluntary team delivered 40 years of Art Awards in Carnarvon. The Shire is proud to continue the awards as a biennial event.
Thank you to everyone who entered, visited and supported GAA26. We look forward to welcoming you back in 2028.
Gascoyne Art Awards Winners 2026
The Shire congratulated the following award recipients:
- Best Overall: Markham Boston — Sculpture Without Wazza
- Runner-Up Best Overall: Sofie Seyah — Reflections of Faure
- Gascoyne Landscape: Alice Linford Forte — Echoes in the Dust
- Gascoyne Seascape: Caitlin Fitzgerald — Faure Island Shark Bay
- Human Form: Sadie James — The Bee Lady
- Three-Dimensional Art: Xavier Cox — The Gear Reaper
- Gascoyne First Nations: Karla Tittums — Galjalbu Dancing (Emu Mating)
- Abstract: Marlene Anderson — Mungili Waterholes and Rockholes
- Gascoyne Arts Society People’s Choice Award: Sadie James — The Bee Lady
Behind the Scenes: Insights from GAA26 Judges
While the Gascoyne Art Awards exhibition has officially come to a close, the inspiration it sparked continues to live on. Evaluating such an incredible showcase of regional talent is no easy task, so we sat down with our three esteemed judges to get a glimpse into their process. In the interviews below, they reflect on their experiences exploring the exhibition, share what stood out to them this year, and offer invaluable tips and advice for artists preparing to enter future awards.
Sarah Roots
curator and creative producer
Pilbara-based curator and creative producer Sarah Roots is a considered voice in regional Australian contemporary art. As Lead Curator for the Regional Arts Triennial WA, she brings a practice-driven perspective on how local narratives and lived experience shape artistic production.
Mark Tweedie
Visual Artist
Mark Tweedie is a West Australian painter who spent his early childhood in Carnarvon. Mark is represented by Jan Murphy Gallery. His meticulous, autobiographical works explore memory, childhood, and place, earning him finalist spots in the Darling Portrait, Kilgour, and Blake Prizes.
Maxxi Minaxi May
Australian Artist
Maxxi Minaxi May is an Australian artist whose bold, textured work, spanning weaving, collage, printmaking, sculpture and installation, remixes tape and found objects to explore consumer culture and sustainability. Based in Walyalup / Fremantle for over 30 years, she exhibits with Art Collective WA and recently presented Re-PLAY at the Art Gallery of WA.
Catalogue Gascoyne Art Awards 2026
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