Longlist:

This is the longlist for the 2026 Observer Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism, announced on 7 April 2026

Feyi Adegbite for their review of the Wolfgang Tillmans exhibition Nothing could have prepared us – Everything could have prepared us at Centre Pompidou

Tien Albert for their review of Olaolu Slawn’s Slawn’s Studio exhibition at Saatchi Yates

Imogen Barnes for their review of the Naeem Mohaiemen film Through A Mirror, Darkly

Sabine Casparie for their review of Eva Helene Pade’s exhibition Søgelys at Thaddeus Ropac

Isabelle Castro for their review of Beeple’s Regular Animals at Art Basel Miami Beach

RW Chapman for their review of Rie Qudan’s novel Sympathy Tower Tokyo, translated by Jesse Kirkwood

Julia Clayton for their review of the 150th Anniversary Exhibition at The Atkinson

Ana Fati for their review of Shih-Ching Tsou’s film Left-Handed Girl

Barnabas Fletcher for their review of Jafar Panahi’s film It Was Just An Accident

Jason Greenwood for their review of Emerald Fennell’s film Wuthering Heights

Alexa Hall for their review of the Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion exhibition at The Barbican

Emma Roseanne Haughton for their review of Rainbow Waltz, performed by Vienna Philharmonic at Vienna’s New Year Celebration 2026

Martin Kudlac for their review of Yorgos Lanthimos’s film Bugonia

Anais Lukaku for their review of the Lee Miller exhibition at Tate Britain

Connor McLaughlin for their review of Team Cherry’s video game Hollow Knight: Silksong

No’a L. bat Miri for their review of Siri Broch Johansen’s opera Ovllá at Oulu2026

Fonie Mitsopoulou for their review of Ben Pester’s short story collection Sail Away Land

Amelia Moran for their review of the Marie Antoinette Style exhibition at V&A South Kensington

Daniel Newsham for their review of Joseph Kosinski’s movie F1: The Movie

Ciarán O’Rourke for their review of Miguel Conner’s biography The Occult Elvis: The Mystical and Magical Life of the King

Amy Orr for their review of Gareth Edwards’ film Jurassic World: Rebirth

Henry Roberts for their review of Vincenzo Latronico’s novel Perfection

James Scargill for their review of Nordic Resonance, performed by Renzo Spiteri and Richard Craig

Stephen Smith for their review of the biography The Wonderful World that Almost Was: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek by Andrew Durbin

Ivana Troselj for their review of the cinematic screening of the opera The Name of the Rose by La Scala

Loïck Tyson for their review of the Lankum single Ghost Town

Akrivi Ventouras for their review of the National Theatre Live screening of All My Sons, directed by Ivo Van Hove.

Flo Winkley for their review of Nan Goldin’s The Ballad of Sexual Dependency exhibition at Gagosian

Ben Wormald for their review of the Lord of the Flies television series directed by Marc Munden

Elena Zeng for their review of The Wooden Prince, performed by London Philharmonic at the Southbank Centre

Congratulations to all of our longlistees. A shortlist will be announced on 14 April 2026, followed by our grand winners’ announcement on 13 May 2026. The Prize will then reopen for entries later in 2026.

Landing page | Useful tips | Previous winners | Entry criteria | Terms and conditions

• Share | 
• Print