The 2026 Art Prize winner is local artist, Rosie Burns.

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The winning artwork named THE NETTED SUNBEAM DANCE will appear on the front cover of this year’s brochure. The title is a line from Tennyson's THE BROOK - one of Rosie’s favourite water poems.

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The original artwork will be on display at the Festival in September and will be auctioned at the end of the 10 days, with profits being shared between the artist and the Festival.

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Rosie is a painter and printmaker, she is one half of Rosie and Red Art and Leather, working from studios in Bideford. Her work is a vibrant exploration of light, life, and the interplay between humanity and the environment. More formal oil paintings celebrate the natural world, and generate narratives, whilst experimental printmaking processes challenge depictions of gender, environmental concerns and push the boundaries between print and paint.

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She initially trained as an Archaeological site and finds illustrator, she then went on to train to teach art and design in schools, she worked in state education for over 20 years. Rosie has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally for over 3 decades, participated in Art for Social Justice exhibitions in Miami, Berlin and the 2024 Venice Biennial. She is an Artivist, a pacifist and keen to use her work to engage broad audiences in issues of contemporary social justice, she is a full-time, self-employed artist.

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For more information visit www.rosieburnsartist.com