Tarik Ahlip Wins Blake Prize

Australian multidisciplinary artist Tarik Ahlip has been awarded the top honour in the 69th Blake Art Prize for his work On Her Return (Facial Burns and a Garland of Flowers) (2024–25), a powerful sculptural piece created from plaster, pigment and sand.

Working on Dharug and Gadigal Country, Ahlip is recognised for a rigorous, concept-driven practice spanning film, sculpture, installation, sound and text. His work examines spirituality, ritual, migration and ethics through poetic and cinematic forms, drawing on religious and philosophical traditions to explore the moral frameworks shaping contemporary life.

Widely regarded as Australia's pre-eminent religious and spiritual art competition, the Blake Art Prize holds a unique and respected place in the national arts landscape, offering artists a rare platform to engage deeply with questions of belief, faith and the human condition.

2026 Prize Winners:

• The Blake Art Prize ($35,000, non-acquisitive)

  Tarik Ahlip for On Her Return (Facial Burns and a Garland of Flowers) (2024–25)

• The Blake Acquisitive Art Prize ($10,000, acquisitive)

  Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello OAM for Painted Desert Continuous Creation Story (2024)

  An internationally recognised artist of Lower Southern Arrernte, Chinese and Anglo-Celtic descent, Martiniello is known for her distinctive hot-blown glass works that reinterpret traditional Aboriginal woven forms such as eel traps and baskets. Working from Canberra Glassworks, her practice bridges Indigenous and non-Indigenous material cultures, exploring continuity, sustainability and spiritual connection to Country. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and she is a recipient of major honours including appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia.

• The Blake Next Generation Scholarship ($5,000, non-acquisitive)

  Sary Zananiri for Crossing seas and following stars (2025)

  A Palestinian-Australian artist, cultural historian and Senior Lecturer in Fine Art, Zananiri's practice spans installation, photography, objects and text. Their work combines archival research and visual art to explore colonialism, diasporic identity and the formation of religious and nationalist narratives, particularly in relation to Palestine. Exhibited widely across Australia, Europe and the Middle East, their work reflects a deeply research-driven and internationally engaged practice.

• The Blake Poetry Prize ($5,000, non-acquisitive)

  Chen Wang for The Woman who Refused the Kingdom of Forgetting

  Wang is an emerging Australian poet whose work explores spirituality, migration and cultural inheritance through a contemplative and precise lyric voice. Writing across English and Chinese traditions, his poetry engages with themes of faith, doubt and interior life, contributing to contemporary conversations about identity and belief.

Liverpool City Council Director Community and Lifestyle Tina Bono said the Blake Prize's national significance continues to resonate.

"The Blake Art Prize is widely recognised as Australia's pre-eminent religious and spiritual art competition, with a national reputation for excellence and bold contemporary thinking," Ms Bono said.

"For almost seven decades, it has provided artists with a rare and important platform to explore spirituality, belief and the human experience through powerful and often challenging works."

"Liverpool is proud to host a prize of this national significance, bringing together artists and audiences from across the country to engage with ideas that are deeply personal, profoundly human and universally relevant."

The 69th Blake Art Prize exhibition will be presented at Liverpool Powerhouse from 2 May to 14 June 2026, featuring 33 finalist works from artists across Australia.

Established in 1951, the Blake Prize remains a cornerstone of Australia's cultural calendar, continuing to champion contemporary artistic engagement with spirituality, religion and belief.

Following the launch, the public will be invited to vote for the Blake People's Choice Art Prize.

With artists represented from across the country and a legacy spanning more than seven decades, the 69th Blake Art Prize continues to affirm its standing as a leading platform for religious and spiritual art in Australia. Further information: https://www.liverpoolpowerhouse.com.au/whats-on/galleries/prizes/the-blake-prize