Almost 3000 people voted in the 2026 Environmental Art & Design Prize People’s Choice Awards, selecting three works that approach environmental concerns through ocean memory, ecological warning and a child’s imagined frog-shaped rock.
Kristy Gordon won the Art category for Three Water Drawings, Christian Roth won Design for Time is Ticking, and young artist Victoria Dupuit won Young Artist & Designer for The Frog Rock. Each winner receives $1,000, while the public voting period has ended with the exhibition closing on Sunday 20 September 2026.
The free exhibition presented 170 finalist works selected from more than 700 submissions across Australia. Art and Design finalists were displayed at Manly Art Gallery & Museum, while the Young Artists & Designers exhibition was held at Curl Curl Creative Space.
Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins said the voting response showed how creative work can make environmental issues easier for people to discuss. “The People’s Choice Awards are a wonderful reminder of how art and design can connect people with important environmental issues,” Mayor Heins said.
Independent local coverage by You Northern Beaches described the winners as markedly different public favourites, linking Gordon’s transparent acrylic installation with the ocean, Roth’s sculpture with environmental breakdown and Dupuit’s graphite drawing with a family holiday memory.
Gordon’s winning work is made from digital drawings printed on hand-shaped acrylic and held in handmade brass cradles. The transparent pieces sit away from the wall like bubbles rising through water, drawing on the Ettalong artist’s experiences swimming and snorkelling.
Her practice explores ocean memory, repetitive mark-making and what she calls “slow art”, with a practice-based PhD investigating drawing water as an ethical response to fast contemporary culture. The result is an environmental work that asks viewers to linger over fleeting sensations rather than presenting a single warning or solution.
Roth’s Time is Ticking takes a sharper approach. The 65-by-30-by-30-centimetre sculpture combines basalt rock, brass, gold leaf and electronic components, using a crack through the stone to represent damage appearing in the environment and an apparent lava flow suggesting nature reclaiming a damaged world.
Dupuit’s The Frog Rock is smaller and more personal, using layered graphite shading to record a rock formation spotted beside an Airbnb during a family trip. A family joke about the rocks resembling a resting frog became a detailed study of texture, light, scale and the way memory changes an ordinary landscape.
The public awards sit separately from the professionally judged prize. The 2026 judging panel included visual artist Laura Jones and designer, maker and educator Nila Rezaei, while the People’s Choice result recorded what visitors responded to across the galleries.
That distinction has shaped the prize since its launch in 2021. The inaugural exhibition featured more than 220 finalists across nine categories, while the 2026 competition drew more than 700 entries and selected 170 works, making the Northern Beaches event a nationally competitive exhibition rather than a small local open call.
Previous judges have included Australian artist Janet Laurence, who said art can bring public attention to climate change issues, and University of Sydney lecturer Dr Michael Mossman, who has described connection with Country as foundational to his architectural practice. Their involvement places the prize between contemporary art, environmental communication and community engagement.
The 2026 exhibition was presented by Northern Beaches Council with foundation sponsor Colormaker Industries and event sponsor Kimbriki Environmental Enterprises. Visitors who attended the Manly venue saw the two adult-category winners together, while Dupuit’s winning work required a separate visit to Curl Curl Creative Space.
Manly Art Gallery & Museum is at 1a West Esplanade, close to Manly Wharf, while Curl Curl Creative Space is at 105 Abbott Road. During the exhibition run, both venues opened from 10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday, but the exhibition ended on 20 September.
Related to This Story
Northern Beaches Council
Northern Beaches Council is the local government authority covering Sydney’s Northern Beaches from Palm Beach to Manly. It presented the Environmental Art & Design Prize and operates cultural venues, public spaces and community programs across the region.
Manly Art Gallery & Museum
Manly Art Gallery & Museum is Northern Beaches Council’s principal visual arts venue on Manly Cove at West Esplanade. Established in 1930, it is the oldest metropolitan regional gallery in New South Wales.
Curl Curl Creative Space
Curl Curl Creative Space is a Northern Beaches Council arts venue at 105 Abbott Road, Curl Curl. It hosts exhibitions, workshops and creative programs, including presentations for young and community-based artists.
The public vote has given three very different works a shared place in the prize’s record: Gordon’s ocean-inspired installation, Roth’s warning carved into stone and Dupuit’s careful observation of an everyday family memory.