Shortlisted artists announced for FUAM Graduate Art Prize 2026
Four recent graduates from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Culture have been shortlisted for this year’s Friends of University Art and Music Graduate Art Prize at the University of Leeds.
Now in its 14th year, the Friends of University Art and Music (FUAM) Graduate Art Prize celebrates the talents of students completing their degree studies in Art & Design and Fine Art at the University of Leeds.
The emerging artists to be shortlisted this year are Laura Gooch (BA Art & Design), Marcus Hills (BA Art & Design), Izzy Cheyne Jones (BA Fine Art with Contemporary Cultural Theory) and Melissa Nesbitt (BA Fine Art).
While each of the four artists in the exhibition work in diverse practices across a variety of media, all share an interest in how our relationships with the world around us are mediated by technology or human intervention.
Their work will be showcased at the FUAM Graduate Art Prize 2026 exhibition at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery from 16 September to 19 December, launching with an evening event on Tuesday 15 September.
Laura Gooch
BA Art and Design graduate Laura Gooch’s innovative practice focuses on “collaborating” with living materials: growing wood block prints from bacteria, and most recently growing mycelium in denim fibres to produce sculptures. She said of her work with the thread-like fungus:
“By surrendering design control to the organism, the project reveals how mycelium’s adaptive, collaborative behaviours can reshape domestic objects and human ways of living.
“It feels amazing to be selected for FUAM, especially after a busy final year at university, it's a great way to continue my creative practice. It's exciting to exhibit MycoLiving so more people can learn about the process of working with living material and the mycological world.”
Laura Gooch, MycoLiving: A visual exploration of the process of co-designing, 2026. © The Artist
Marcus Hills
With a practice that takes in traditional painting and sculpture but increasingly stretches to multimedia installations, Marcus Hills (BA Art and Design) “aims to investigate how we can build more harmonious relationships with the natural world through speculative and humorous projects.”
An installation in the form of a hybrid birdhide inspired by the nests of the weaver bird, his final project New Ways of Listening explores how AI might enable the translation of birdsong into music. Marcus said:
“It feels fantastic to be a finalist, having been so inspired by the previous FUAM exhibitions I have seen since joining the University.
“I feel incredibly lucky to be able to continue thinking about this body of work after finishing my degree and it really is a privilege to gain experience working in a formal gallery space, collaborating with a curator and other professionals.”
Marcus Hills, New Ways of Listening, 2026. © The Artist.
Izzy Cheyne Jones
Describing herself as “sculptor, drawer and city dweller” Izzy Cheyne Jones (BA Fine Art with Contemporary Cultural Theory) is inspired by “the electricity I feel from my urban surroundings”.
Seeking to “explore the emotional dimension of architecture”, her installations feature reclaimed elements such as windows, or structures fabricated meticulously from glass, steel and other industrial materials.
A distinctive visual language of tension, suspension, opacity and transparency is often expanded or disrupted by text, playful or enigmatic. Izzy said:
“I am excited to show my work with a different cohort of artists.
“I am looking forward to seeing how my work will be adapted to the architecture of the gallery.”
Izzy Cheyne Jones, The louder the bark, The softer the bite, 2026. HOLD BA Fine Art Degree Show, University of Leeds, June 2026. © The Artist. Photo by Jules Lister.
Melissa Nesbitt
With a striking sensitivity towards the range of unusual materials and processes that she uses, Melissa Nesbitt (BA Fine Art) works with personal family archives, photographs and written records to reflect on preservation, loss, grief and the ways in which memory is continually reshaped and reassembled.
Works in her final show incorporated cherry wood and oak veneer, laser etched with archival photographs, her grandmother's handwriting and documents relating to her marriage and migration, suspended within the warp of a textile woven from naturally dyed yarn. Melissa said:
“I'm incredibly honoured to be selected as a finalist for this year's FUAM prize. It's a real privilege to have my work recognised, and to accompany a group of artists with such diverse and interesting practices.
“I look forward to seeing how the different works connect within the exhibition!”
Melissa Nesbitt, I hope you fall through, Call home to me, 2026. HOLD BA Fine Art Degree Show, University of Leeds, June 2026. Photo by Jules Lister. © The Artist.
The finalists were selected by a panel of three judges, based on work showcased in this year’s degree shows by graduating students from the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies (HOLD) and School of Design.
This year’s judges are Khadijah Ibrahiim (poet, playwright, Artistic Director of Leeds Young Authors and an Honorary Doctor of Letters at the University of Leeds), Claire Knowles (Acting Director of Library Services at University of Leeds) and Damon Jackson Waldock (Director of The Art House, Wakefield and founder of the charity Sanctuary Britain).
The judges chose two artists from each degree show for the FUAM Graduate Art Prize exhibition. They will gather again later in the year to decide on the overall winner, to be announced at a public event in the Gallery on Wednesday 25 November.
Poster for FUAM Graduate Art Prize exhibition 2026. Artworks by Izzy Cheyne Jones, Marcus Hills. Laura Gooch and Melissa Nesbitt.
With the economic uncertainty involved in pursuing a career in the arts more pressing than ever, the FUAM Prize offers a package of support for the transition from art student to professional artist.
Each finalist receives a £200 materials bursary to develop or expand their work, along with dedicated support from a team of curatorial, technical and communications professionals at the University Galleries.
The winner of the FUAM Graduate Art Prize 2026 will receive a prize of £900, and one of their works will be acquired for the University Art Collection.
Ahead of the prize-giving event, visitors to the show can have their say with a vote for the People’s Choice award, either in the Gallery or online.
Winner of the FUAM Graduate Art Prize 2025, Alice Boot, with their work in The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery. Photo © Leeds University Galleries
Last year’s winner of the FUAM Graduate Art Prize, Alice Boot (BA Fine Art 2025) has since celebrated their first solo show at Sunny Bank Mills Gallery following a residency in the archive there.
Alice won both the University of Leeds’ Berkofsky Arts Award and the Henry Moore Institute’s BA Dissertation Prize for 2025, and has continued to participate in a number of group exhibitions in Yorkshire and London.
Another FUAM winner, Emii Alrai (BA Fine Art 2016) followed a major commission for Hepworth Wakefield with a display of new and reimagined works at Compton Verney. Other recent exhibitions include Fragment and Form at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, Capture at Towner Eastbourne and Workplace Foundation, Newcastle.
Alice Boot's winning artworks for the FUAM Graduate Art Prize 2026. The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds. Photo © University of Leeds.
Curator of the FUAM Graduate Art Prize 2026 exhibition, Courtney Spencer, said:
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Izzy, Laura, Marcus and Melissa as they develop their work for this year’s FUAM Graduate Art Prize exhibition.
“Each artist has such a distinct voice, but there are also some lovely connections between their practices, particularly around material exploration, memory, technology, and our relationship with the natural and built environment.
“The FUAM Prize offers graduating artists valuable support at a pivotal point in their careers. It’s exciting to see them continue developing their work beyond the degree show and within the context of a professional gallery setting.
“I’m really looking forward to sharing their work with visitors to The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery.”
More information
All are welcome to celebrate the opening of the FUAM Graduate Art Prize exhibition 2026 in The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, Parkinson Building, University of Leeds, on Tuesday 15 September, 5:30pm – 7:30pm.
The exhibition runs from Wednesday 16 September to 19 December 2026. Prizes will be awarded at another public event in the Gallery from 5.30pm on Wednesday 25 November.
Admission is free, with no booking necessary. The Gallery is open from 10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday.
About Friends of University Art and Music
The Friends of University Art and Music (FUAM) is an independent non-profit foundation established in 1989 to support the musical and artistic life of the University and the city of Leeds. From informal beginnings as a group of staff members and friends, FUAM has grown into a lively organisation with a regular programme of events.
Members enjoy exclusive previews, artist talks and more, and their subscriptions and donations support the annual Graduate Art Prize as well as The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery and the University of Leeds International Concert Series. For information on how to join, visit fuam.leeds.ac.uk.
Feature image
Left to right: Izzy Cheyne Jones, The louder the bark, The softer the bite, 2026 (detail). © The Artist. Photo: Jules Lister; Melissa Nesbitt, I hope you fall through, Call home to me, 2026 (detail). © The Artist. Photo: Jules Lister; Laura Gooch, MycoLiving: A visual exploration of the process of co-designing, 2026 (detail). © The Artist; Marcus Hills, New Ways of Listening, 2026 (detail). © The Artist.
