The Secret Art Prize

About the prize

Curious Duke Gallery has organised The Secret Art Prize since 2014. The prize returned for its second year in January 2015, following a first edition that drew over 130 applicants and a highly popular exhibition.

The gallery seeks to support new talents and present them to a wider audience, often bringing street artists into a gallery environment for their first time. Entries are welcomed across five categories: drawing, painting, print making, mixed media, and photography.

The aim is to encourage truly original and unconventional artistic processes. Read more about the prize, meet the judges, see what the prize includes, or check the FAQs.

The Secret Art Prize exists to give emerging artists a genuine opportunity to be seen. Rather than focusing only on established names, the prize is built around curiosity and discovery, inviting people to look closer at work they might otherwise walk past. It celebrates originality of process as much as finished results, and it welcomes artists who are still finding their voice. For many participants, entering is a first step toward a wider audience, and the prize aims to make that step feel open, encouraging, and free of unnecessary barriers.

Entries are welcomed across a range of disciplines, reflecting the belief that interesting ideas rarely stay inside one medium. Drawing, painting, print making, mixed media, and photography all sit side by side, so that a delicate sketch can share the same platform as a bold photographic experiment. This breadth keeps the prize lively and unpredictable, and it allows judges to compare very different approaches on equal terms. Artists are encouraged to submit work that feels true to their own instincts rather than work designed to fit a narrow idea of what art should be.

The gallery behind the prize has long been interested in supporting new talent and presenting it to a broader public. Part of that mission involves bringing street and urban artists into a gallery setting, often for the first time, where their work can be encountered in a calmer and more considered environment. This crossing of worlds gives visitors a chance to see familiar styles in a new light, and it gives artists a chance to test their practice beyond the street. The result is a programme that feels connected to the city while still committed to careful curation.

Judging is handled by a panel rather than a single voice, which helps keep the process fair and open to different perspectives. Panel members look for originality, conviction, and a distinctive way of working, weighing these qualities alongside technical skill. Shortlisting narrows the field before a final decision is reached, and the public also has a chance to take part through a vote. That combination of expert opinion and audience response makes the prize feel shared, and it gives artists several ways to be noticed rather than just one.

For applicants, the process is deliberately straightforward. Artists submit a small selection of images along with a short statement about their practice, and there is no requirement to have shown widely before. The point is to see the work clearly and to understand the thinking behind it, not to judge a long list of achievements. Applications are reviewed with care, and the shortlist is announced before the final winner is chosen. Keeping the entry simple means more people feel able to put themselves forward, which is exactly the spirit the prize hopes to encourage.

Winning or being shortlisted brings visibility that can be hard to find early in a career. Selected work is exhibited, published, and shared with an audience that includes collectors, curators, and fellow artists, and the exhibition itself becomes a moment of recognition. Beyond the immediate event, winners and runners-up often gain confidence, new connections, and a sense of momentum that carries into their next projects. The prize is not only about a single result; it is about opening doors and helping artists build the kind of momentum that lasts.

Curiosity sits at the heart of everything the prize stands for, from the way entries are invited to the way the exhibition is presented. Visitors are encouraged to slow down, ask questions, and engage with work that may not explain itself straight away. That sense of discovery is part of the pleasure, and it is why the prize continues to attract artists who enjoy taking risks. By rewarding unconventional thinking, the prize gently reminds its audience that the most memorable art is often the art that makes us look twice.

The prize is a continuing project rather than a one-off event, shaped by the belief that new voices deserve steady support. Each edition builds on the last, learning from the artists who take part and from the conversations their work sparks. Mentoring, exhibitions, and public engagement all form part of that wider effort to nurture talent over time. Anyone who is curious about contemporary art is invited to follow along, whether by entering, visiting, or simply keeping an eye out for what comes next.