San Diego Visual Arts Network was created to encourage artists to connect, create, and shine. At the heart of our work is the belief that art has the power to quiet personal worries, change how we see the world, and bring people together.
The San Diego Art Prize is one of SDVAN’s signature initiatives. It recognizes the excellence of visual artists in our region and helps bring their work to a wider audience. Since its beginning, the Art Prize has celebrated artists who are shaping the future of San Diego’s creative community.
The Art Prize is not something artists simply “win.” It is a recognition of a sustained career in the arts, ideally awarded when an artist is at the top of their game. Selectors consider work created within the previous three years. Our long-term goal is to continue expanding the Prize so that, over time, we can recognize the many outstanding artists who contribute to San Diego’s cultural life.
The San Diego Art Prize turns local talent into lasting impact.
2026 San Diego Art Prize
This year’s exhibition, Soft Power: On Color, Time, and Resistance with artists Danielle Dean, Ingrid Hernández, Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio, Together, these artists represent the diverse and innovative practices that are defining San Diego art today. Together, these artists represent the diverse and innovative practices that are defining San Diego art today. The show is curated by Lara Bullock, Ph.D.
This year’s recipients bring a particularly meaningful dimension to the Art Prize. For the first time, all three are women with young children—an extraordinary reminder of the many demands artists balance while creating exceptional work. Each artist has a distinctive voice and practice, and bringing them together creates both an opportunity and a challenge. Our curator has approached that challenge with intelligence and care.
Presenting the Art Prize at the Oceanside Museum of Art has also allowed us to reach and engage new and more diverse audiences. We believe that San Diego is one creative community—connected by bold art, big ideas, and a shared commitment to creativity.
The 2026 Art Prize presentation will include a panel discussion, giving audiences an opportunity to hear directly from the artists about their work and creative practices. We have also developed educational lesson plans, created by Brenda Andrews, for use at the museum and online.
A catalog designed by Mark Murphy of Murphy Designs will be available in both print and digital formats, with the online version connecting readers to video content and additional resources.
Above all, we believe that art connects us. SDVAN is proud to help make those connections happen—between artists and audiences, ideas and communities, and San Diego and the wider art world.
That is our legacy.
