The Critics’ Circle Visual Arts & Architecture Section announced the winners of its annual awards at a ceremony last night, recognising outstanding contributions to the arts by artists, exhibitions and individuals.
Nominated and judged by professional critics, the Critics’ Circle Visual Arts & Architecture Awards prioritise public impact, artistic ambition and sustained contribution, recognising both visible achievement and the often hidden work that sustains the visual arts.
The awards were presented at an event on the evening of 14th January 2026 at the Supporters’ House at the National Gallery, bringing together critics, artists, museum directors, curators and cultural practitioners from across the UK.
Main Award for Contribution to the Visual Arts: Es Devlin
The Critics’ Circle’s main award went to genre-defying artist Es Devlin in recognition of a body of work that spans art installation, stage design, publishing and exhibition-making, which has consistently expanded the ways in which audiences encounter art.
Recent milestones include her monumental revolving library installations Library of Light at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, and Library of Us on Faena beach in Miami, which invited over a million visitors to become part of a temporary society of readers and listeners; Congregation, a public installation of Devlin’s portraits of 50 Londoners who have experienced forced displacement from their homelands at St Mary le Strand; and Come Home Again, a choral installation of her drawings of 250 endangered London species outside Tate Modern.
She continues to redefine the art of stage design in theatres, opera houses, arenas and stadia with the world’s most celebrated musicians. Her practice is documented in An Atlas of Es Devlin, a monograph and an exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York.
The Critics’ Circle pointed to Devlin’s ability to work across scales and disciplines, her commitment to addressing social and environmental themes through culture, and her transformative impact on audiences.
The award comes ahead of the Design Museum’s forthcoming exhibition Es Devlin (18th September 2026 – 11th April 2027), billed as the first museum show in the UK dedicated to her work. This year, she is also the artistic director of Homo Faber, the biennial exhibition of contemporary craft taking place in Venice throughout September.
Denise Silvester Carr Unsung Hero: Tracy Jones
Tracy Jones, the founder of Brera PR, was recognised for her longstanding work promoting exhibitions in small and regional museums and galleries across the UK.
Jones has played a key role in connecting critics and audiences with exhibitions beyond major metropolitan centres, supporting a more geographically and institutionally diverse cultural landscape.
Best Institutional Gallery Exhibition: Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers at the National Gallery, London
The Critics’ Circle recognised this exhibition at London’s National Gallery for its ambition, narrative clarity and exceptional international loans, which together presented a compelling and accessible account of Vincent van Gogh’s work and life for a broad public audience.
Best Commercial Gallery Exhibition: Notes on Water at Eames Fine Art
The award for Best Commercial Gallery Exhibition went to a solo exhibition of works by the late visual artist Norman Ackroyd, who died shortly after the exhibition at Eames Fine Art opened in 2024.
Award maker: Rosina Payan Pecorelli
The awards for Es Devlin and Tracy Jones were commissioned from Rosina Payan Pecorelli, a recent graduate in jewellery and silversmithing from Edinburgh College of Art.
Payan Pecorelli produced wearable awards in the form of brooches: a principal award for Devlin and a smaller work for Jones.
The Critics’ Circle has a long-standing commitment to supporting emerging makers and has previously commissioned awards from practitioners such as Marcin Rusak and Juliette Bigley.
Es Devlin said:
“My 30-year practice has been indelibly shaped by the rigorous cultural discourse sustained by our community of critics, and, knowing the depth of their forensic and richly informed approach, this award holds special significance.”
Sir Gabriele Finaldi, Director of National Gallery, London, said:
“I’d like to thank all the members of the Critics Circle who voted for the National Gallery to receive this award. Our Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers exhibition attracted a record-breaking 334,589 visitors, making it the most popular ticketed show in the gallery’s history, with record overnight openings to meet the intense demand. It is therefore wonderful that the hard work of all the team at the National Gallery who made this possible has been recognised.”
Tracy Jones, founder of Brera PR, said:
“I’d like to thank everyone at the Critics’ Circle who voted for me to win the Unsung Hero Award – it is entirely thanks to the kindness and generosity of them and their colleagues that I am able to do the job which I love, which is making as many people as possible aware of all the amazing things happening in museums and galleries around the UK and beyond. It’s such a privilege and an honour to receive this award and I’m incredibly grateful.”
Rebecca and Vincent Eames, founders of Eames Fine Art, said:
“It was an honour to host this exhibition of Norman Ackroyd’s beautiful work. Norman was a firm friend of the Eames Fine Art Gallery and his annual show every September had become a highly anticipated fixture in the calendar for over a decade. Norman would have loved this evening. It is a triumph for printmaking and it is also a triumph for his beloved Bermondsey Street and we know that would have made him especially happy. This is a wonderful opportunity to raise a glass and celebrate a brilliant artist, a trailblazing etcher and a magnificent catalogue of work which we were honoured to exhibit.”
Corinne Julius, President of Critics’ Circle said:
“We were delighted that our award winners reflect the breadth and excitement of the visual arts and their contribution to the life of all of us, across society.”
About
The Critics’ Circle is a network of professional critics. Its Visual Arts & Architecture section was established in 2007, and has presented its own award since 2011. The awards are nominated and judged by members, and recognise artistic excellence, public impact and sustained contribution to the visual arts. criticscircle.org.uk
