2026 Maldon Landscape Prize: Essence of Place
Marian Alexopoulos - Towards Murtoa, Mixed media (acrylic/collage)
As Cascade Art Gallery reopens following its winter break, we are delighted to announce the 2026 Maldon Landscape Prize: Essence of Place, with prize winners to be revealed at the exhibition opening. The exhibition will run from 26 September to 25 October 2026, open Saturdays and Sundays, 10am to 5pm. Visitors are warmly invited to experience this diverse exhibition in the heart of Maldon and cast their vote for the People's Choice Award.
The theme, Essence of Place, invites contemporary artists to explore our enduring relationship with landscape and environment. Since the earliest human markings on cave walls, clay, stone and bark, artists have sought to capture the places that shape our lives. Today, this impulse remains as relevant as ever. In a rapidly changing world marked by urbanisation, environmental challenges and evolving cultural identities, artists continue to examine what place means and how it influences our sense of belonging, memory and connection.
Landscape is more than scenery. It is where we live, gather, reflect and interact with the natural world. For contemporary artists, "place" can be physical, emotional, cultural or imagined. It can be expressed through figurative, abstract, conceptual, spiritual or experimental approaches, reflecting the many ways we experience and interpret our surroundings.
Throughout history, artists have reimagined landscape to reflect the ideas of their time, from the Romantic notions of the Pastoral and the Sublime to the innovations of Impressionism, Modernism and beyond. Today’s artists continue this tradition, bringing fresh perspectives to the shifting relationship between people and the environment.
The 2026 Maldon Landscape Prize celebrates these diverse responses, inviting audiences to consider not only what a place looks like, but what it means and how it feels to be there. We welcome everyone to visit, engage with the artworks and support the artists by voting for the People's Choice Award.
