Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2026: Entries Closed. Digital Art & Emerging Artist entries

Entries to the 2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize have officially closed and the judging process is now underway. Our sincere thanks to all of the artists and photographers that entered. We are very excited with the wide variety and quality of the entries and have already discovered a host of new creatives!

We’re thrilled not only by the discovery of new artists but also by the return of those who have participated in previous years. Once again, witnessing the evolution of their work is a true delight.

This year’s entries have showcased a stunning variety of styles and themes – from enchanting fantasy and intriguing contemporary surrealism, to captivating dark art and unconventional figurative portraits. Your creativity continues to impress us!

~ Danijela Krha Purssey

We are always excited to see artists who entered in previous years entering again this year. We love seeing the evolution of artists’ works year on year!

A truly international Art Prize

Artists from 106 different countries entered the 2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize!

We have received entries from an incredible 106 different countries this year – wow!! Entries have been received from: Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Türkiye, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, US Virgin Islands, Việt Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Entries were received in various Traditional mediums including drawing, collage, painting, printing making, etching, and mixed media. We have received sculptures in many mediums including polymer clays, resins, stone and semi-precious stones, metal, glass, paper, organic materials such as wool, wood and bamboo; textiles, leather and latex, ceramics, found and second hand objects, and even a cello! The Photography category provided the opportunity for fine art photographers from around the world to enter both their digital and analogue photography, utilising various equipment to bring their ideas to life. Last but not least, the Digital Art category has seen an array of digital painters, digital sculptors, digital 3D artists and photomanipulation artists enter, and in-line with our business ethos, AI-generated art was not eligible to enter.

Judging Underway

Thanks to this process, our Editor-in-Chief Danijela Krha Purssey and her team have once again discovered a remarkable amount of incredible new talent which will inform the curation of the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine and our international group exhibitions going forward. We look forward to sharing more of these wonderful entries over the coming weeks! The December issue will also feature a 10 page in-depth interview with the Grand Prize Winner of the 2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, and another special editorial showcasing the Winners in each Award category, along with the Honourable Mentions. Purchase a print subscription now to make sure you don’t miss out on this and many other inspiring stories.

Judging has now commenced. The 2026 Jury Panel is made up of: Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Co-Founders Danijela Krha Purssey & Richard Purssey, Owners & Directors of Modern Eden Gallery, Kim Larson and Bradley Platz; representatives from our major sponsors, and five esteemed contemporary artists: Brad Kunkle (Painting juror), Ed Binkley (Drawing juror), Bastien Lecouffe Deharme (Digital Art juror), Matthias Verginer (Sculpture juror), Franz Szony (Photography juror), along with Co-Founder of IX Arts Patrick Wilshire and Gallery Owner & Curator of Quirky Fox Vicki Fox.

As you can imagine, this is NOT an easy job with so many exceptional entries in all categories! Stay tuned for the big reveal soon.

2026 Award Categories

• Grand Prize Award
• RAYMAR Painting Award
• 33PA Drawing Award
• MPB Photography Award
• INPRNT Digital Art Award
• Sculpture Award
• BearWolf Books Emerging Artist Award
• Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award
• Art & Fable Puzzle Company People’s Choice Award: $1,000 USD + prizes [public voting opens on 2 September 2026]

Timeframes & Deadlines

8 – 25 August 2026: Judging

26 August 2026 onward: Shortlist of 200 Finalists [50 per award category: Digital Art, Photography, Sculpture, Drawing, Painting, Imaginative Realism and Emerging Art Award] announced

2 September 2026 [AEDT, Australian Eastern Daylight Time]: People’s Choice Award voting opens

14 September 2026 [Midnight Sydney, Australia time]: People’s Choice Award voting closes

Week of the 14th of September: Winners announced

15 September 2026: BearWolf Books Emerging Artist Award winners announced

16 September 2026: Sculpture Award winners announced

17 September 2026: MPB Photography Award winners announced

18 September 2026: INPRNT Digital Art Award winners announced

19 September 2026: 33PA Drawing Award winners announced

20 September 2025: Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award winners announced

21 September 2026: RAYMAR Painting Award winners announced

22 September 2026: Grand Prize Award, Honourable Mentions & People’s Choice Award winners announced

7 November 2026: Beautiful Bizarre curated exhibition ‘Glimmer’ opens at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, CA, United States, alongside 100+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists! (Note: Winners of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize will be invited to exhibit a work in the ‘Glimmer’ exhibition in November 2026 at Modern Eden Gallery. Winners may exhibit their prize winning entry if it was created within 12 months of the entry date, and not hung in any other exhibition or prize previously. Work already exhibited or hung in a prize will not be accepted to the ‘Glimmer’ exhibition. If the prize winning work is not eligible to be exhibited in the exhibition, or if the artist chooses, they may create a new work for the exhibition.

Until then, enjoy some of the wonderful entries below in the INPRNT Digital Art Award and BearWolf Books Emerging Artist Award. We will be publishing again sharing the MPB Photography Award, Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award, Sculpture Award, 33PA Drawing Award and RAYMAR Painting Award entries very soon – stay tuned!