The 2026 recipient of the RCSI Art Award has been named as artist Elaine Byrne, who works in the mediums of photography, video, sculpture and installation.
Byrne, from Dublin, is the 11th winner of the annual award, chosen from those who exhibit at the RHA Annual Exhibition, which has been running for more than 196 years.
The RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) Art Award, carried out in association with the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) and The Irish Times, is established to recognise “the link between art, medicine and wellbeing”.
Byrne will receive a prize of €5,000, a silver medal and a commission for the RCSI worth €10,000. Her winning piece is a photograph of a young girl swimming, titled Alessia.
“It’s a photograph taken from above of a girl swimming in the sea,” Byrne said. “Her body has got distorted from the water and unrecognisable in the water.” The subject was the daughter of Byrne’s friends.
Elaine Byrne, Alessia, photographic print, RHA Annual Exhibition 2026
The other shortlisted artists were Erica Coburn, James English, Michael Foley and Vivienne Roche. Previous winners have included Donald Teskey, Colin Davidson. Domino Whisker, Amelia Stein and Miranda Blennerhasset.
Byrne said she wasn’t sure what piece of work she would do for her commission. The brief given to each artist is to “explore the lived experience of health and wellbeing”. They are usually asked to complete their piece within two years. Members of the public can view the artworks on pre-arranged times of the year, such as during Culture Night.
“I would hope I will get time to spend in the RCSI buildings and formulate an idea that’s appropriate for the building; a site specific piece,” Byrne said. “I will need to see the space first. I trained in sculpture originally, so it could be a photograph or a sculpture.”
What will she do with her prize money?
“It will probably go straight back into the work. I have a show coming up next year, in the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery.” She has some research she needs to do, and hopes to “go and do a bit travelling in Silicon Valley gallery in the autumn”.
This year 601 pieces featured in the annual show. There is no formal entry for the RCSI prize; instead, five artworks in the RHA show are chosen for a shortlist. These were selected by a committee of judges that includes various staff from the RCSI and those representing the arts, such as Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh, president of the RHA; Nathalie Weadick, interim director of the RHA; Gemma Tipton of The Irish Times; and Dr Abdul Bulbulia, RCSI alumnus and founder of Waterford Healing Art.
In a statement, Prof Cathal Kelly, RCSI vice-chancellor, said: “Each year, the RCSI Art Award reminds us of the profound relationship between art and healing.”
“I am delighted to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Elaine Byrne. Through her thoughtful and research-led practice, Elaine explores themes of identity, care, belonging and the social dimensions of human experience. Her work invites us to look more closely at the people and stories that shape our world, encouraging reflection on our shared humanity.”
