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 sculptural piece created from plaster, pigment, and sand.
The honour comes with $35,000 in prizemoney.
Ahlip, pictured above with his winning entry, 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.
The 69th Blake Art Prize exhibition – featuring 33 finalist works from artists across Australia – will be at Liverpool Powerhouse until June 14.
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.
The other 2026 Prize winners are:
- Blake Acquisitive Art Prize ($10,000): Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello OAM for Painted Desert Continuous Creation Story (2024)
Blake Next Generation Scholarship ($5,000, non-acquisitive): Sary Zananiri for Crossing seas and following stars (2025)
Blake Poetry Prize ($5,000, non-acquisitive):Chen Wang for The Woman who Refused the Kingdom of Forgetting
Wang.