08/21/2026
In her coverage for Women in the Arts, Zeny Recidoro-Fesh, examines how the twelve finalist artists have entrusted their viewers with reflections of a constant and changing world, whose cycles are both in part due to the effects of the natural world, but also, the human hand’s shadow over what it aims to control.
For the Orlando Museum of Art, their 2026 Florida Prize in Contemporary Art has curated exalted realms of personal history, constructed through the social and natural worlds that surrounds us. It is a tour through the landscapes of the everyday, alongside the forces of the natural world and the man-made one, whose influence lingers through transformation and the restorative healing that follows. Through reflective contemplation of each other’s own perspectives and positions, we examine cycles that fuel our own power within patterns of repression.
Alongside all twelve finalists, a special congratulations to Francisco Masó, as the Juror's Winner for the Florida Prize, and Ema Ri as the People's Choice Winner for the Florida Prize in Contemporary Art.
The Florida Prize in Contemporary Art 2026 is curated by Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon, The Dr. James Cottrell and Mr. Joseph Lovett Chief Curator, and Katherine Page, Associate Curator, Orlando Museum of Art. The 2026 Florida Prize award juror is Jade Powers, The Hugh Kaul Curator of Contemporary Art, Birmingham Museum of Art, AL.
-Osvaldo Martinez Abreu
Cover by Laura Serdiuk Photography, Women in the Arts Inc at Orlando Museum of Art
by Zeny Recidoro-Fesh Introduction by Osvaldo Martinez Abreu
