The Ashbourne Festival 2026 Summer Exhibition closed its doors on Saturday 4 July after another successful show. Prizes were awarded in the open section of the exhibition – established professionals whose work was invited by the organisers were not included.

The winning piece chosen by our judges, artists Simon Manby and Maggie Cullen, was the ceramic sculpture ‘Pilgrim (Man’s Head)’ by Carol Windram.

Her prize was £150, funded by Cooper Assurance Services, and the opportunity of a solo show at the Courtney Gallery. The judges highly commended the oil painting ‘Seeking Sanctuary’ by Steph Trethowan.

Also, the 799 visitors to the exhibition were invited to vote for their favourite work, and the most popular by a big margin was the highly realistic pastel of a Magpie ‘One for Sorrow’ by Eleanor Saum. Her prize is £100, also courtesy of Cooper Assurance. Eleanor seems to know what people like; she won the same prize last year.