Fresh: Art Fair is delighted to announce a new partnership with the ArtGemini Prize, which will bring a specially curated showcase of shortlisted works from the 13th edition of the international art prize to Fresh: Alexandra Palace, 29–31 January 2027.
The partnership brings together two organisations with a shared commitment to quality and discovery: Fresh:’s established platform connecting galleries, collectors and art buyers, and the ArtGemini Prize’s international programme for identifying and recognising global artistic talent.
The ArtGemini Prize celebrates contemporary work across painting, photography and sculpture, attracting entries from artists internationally. Following a rigorous two-stage selection process, up to 25 shortlisted works will be selected for the 13th edition and brought together for a dedicated showcase at Fresh: Alexandra Palace.
The showcase will form a distinct curated feature within Fresh:’s wider programme, complementing the fair’s carefully selected line-up of leading galleries and giving visitors and collectors another opportunity to discover exceptional contemporary work.
Fresh: founder and director Ellie Wardle will also join the ArtGemini Prize judging panel, bringing more than 20 years’ experience across galleries, art fairs and the commercial art world. Her involvement reflects both organisations’ shared emphasis on quality, originality and artistic merit.
Ellie Wardle, Founder and Director of Fresh: Art Fair, said:
“Discovery has always been an important part of Fresh:. We want visitors to encounter exceptional art – from established names to artists they may be seeing for the first time – and, importantly, to find work they want to live with and collect.The ArtGemini Prize has a strong international outlook and a rigorous selection process, so we’re delighted to welcome the shortlisted works to Alexandra Palace. The showcase will sit alongside and complement our gallery-led programme, bringing another carefully curated dimension to the fair. I’m also looking forward to joining the judging panel and playing a part in selecting this year’s finalists and winners.”
Jimmy Lek, Founder & Director ArtGeminiPrize, said:
“Fresh Art Fair is an ideal partner for ArtGeminiPrize because it shares our commitment to discovering, supporting and showcasing exciting contemporary artists. This partnership gives our shortlisted artists an important opportunity to present their work to a London audience of collectors and art professionals”
From shortlist to Alexandra Palace
Following the close of entries, the ArtGemini judging panel will undertake a two-stage selection process to identify up to 25 shortlisted works. The shortlist will be announced on 24 November 2026, giving audiences their first introduction to the artists and works selected for the 13th ArtGemini Prize.
Those works will then be brought together at Fresh: Art Fair in January, where visitors and collectors will be able to experience the shortlist in person. The judging process will culminate at Alexandra Palace, with the winners announced during Fresh:’s Private View on Thursday 28 January 2027, in front of galleries, collectors and invited guests.
Alongside Ellie Wardle, the judging panel brings together expertise from across the commercial, academic, curatorial and institutional art worlds, including Isabel H Langtry, Principal of Hampstead School of Art and founder of the London Sculpture Prize; Dr Michael Pritchard FRPS, former CEO of the Royal Photographic Society; Dr Pwee Keng Hock, founder of Utterly Art in Singapore; freelance critic and historian Nigel Ip; and cultural interpreter, curator and editor Michael Barnett.
The ArtGemini showcase will sit within the wider Fresh: Alexandra Palace programme, at the heart of which remains a carefully selected collection of galleries presenting original contemporary and modern art. The partnership adds an international prize showcase to that programme, introducing Fresh: audiences to selected new talent alongside established and represented artists.