JamFactory Announces 2026 FUSE Glass Prize Finalists

Eighteen finalists have been selected for the 2026 FUSE Glass Prize from high quality and diverse entries received from artists across Australia and New Zealand. The winner of the Established Artist Category will receive a $20,000 non-acquisitive cash prize, while the winner of the David Henshall Emerging Artist Prize will receive a $5,000 cash prize plus a professional development opportunity at JamFactory valued at $5,000.

2026 FUSE Glass Prize Finalists

FUSE Glass Prize – Established Artist Category:

• Gabriella Bisetto (SA)
• Annette Blair (NSW)
• Dominic Burrell (NZ)
• Christine Cathie (NZ)
• Mel Douglas (ACT)
• Nicholas Folland (SA)
• Holly Grace (NSW)
• Jessica Loughlin (SA)
• Nick Mount (SA)
• Kirstie Rea (NSW)
• Tom Rowney (NSW)
• Janice Vitkovsky (SA)

FUSE Glass Prize – David Henshall Emerging Artist Category:

• Racquel Austin-Abdullah (Vic)
• Jordan Benson (Vic)
• Bradley East (SA)
• Bindi Nimmo (SA)
• Isobel Waters (SA)
• April Widdup (ACT)

The exhibition of finalist’s works will be shown at JamFactory, Adelaide from 24 April – 5 July 2026 followed by the ANU School of Art & Design Gallery, Canberra from 18 August – 4 September 2026.

The winners of the Established and Emerging Categories will be announced on the 25th June 2026.

The 2026 judges are Aimee Frodsham, CEO + Artistic Director, Canberra Glassworks; Lee-Anne Hall, Curatorial Director, JamFactory; Tami Landis, Curator of Post-War and Contemporary Glass Corning Museum of Glass; Tom Moore, Glass Artist and 2024 FUSE Glass Prize Winner; Brian Parkes, Chief Executive Officer at JamFactory.

Parkes says of the judging process that, “the whole panel was impressed by the quality of the entries, the calibre of the entrants, the richness of ideas and the consistently outstanding photography of the works submitted. Of course, this only made the task of selecting just twelve established and six emerging artists as finalists even more difficult! The final selection includes an exciting variety of approaches to working with glass, from leadlighting, lampworking and use of found objects to meticulous kiln-forming and virtuosic glassblowing.”

The judges will come together in person toward the end of the exhibition season at JamFactory to select the 2026 winners of the established and emerging category prizes, with the announcement on the evening of 25 June.

Established in 2016, the biennial FUSE Glass Prize and FUSE Glass Residency continue to be predominantly funded through private philanthropy and sponsorship with ongoing support from founding donors, Jim and Helen Carreker along with David McKee AO and Pam McKee, Diana Laidlaw AM, Dr Pamela Wall OAM and Dr Ian Wall AM (1931-2022), Maia Ambegaokar and Joshua Bishop, Nicholas Linke OAM, Susan Armitage, and The David & Dulcie Henshall Foundation continue to generously support the Emerging Artist Category of FUSE through the David Henshall Emerging Artist Prize.

More information: fuseglassprize.com