ARCOmadrid 2026 Awards
ARCOmadrid continues its commitment to collecting, to promoting artists and to its desire to foster contacts that will help to boost purchases at the Feria. At ARCO, private national and international companies take part in initiatives to encourage acquisitions and to recognise artistic creation by presenting various awards. Some are aimed at the actual production of artworks, while others reward some of the artworks exhibited by the galleries at ARCOmadrid. All of them recognise and promote artistic creation, sometimes linked to aspects identified with the brands that sponsor them.
21st NEWARTaward@ARCO
The .NEWART{ foundation;}, together with the International Contemporary Art Fair ARCOmadrid 2026, announces the XXI NEWARTaward@ARCO in collaboration with the Arts Connection Foundation.
NEWARTaward@ARCO inaugurates a new era of the historic ARCO/BEEP Award for Electronic Art, which celebrated its twentieth edition last year, and recognizes a work that makes significant use of new digital technologies or electronic art.
Initiated two decades ago, this award fostered the creation of the .NEWART{ collection;} (formerly the BEEP collection), which brings together more than 150 works of Technological and Digital Art spanning a period of 60 years. This initiative later crystallized into the .NEWART{ foundation;} and, more recently, the .NEWART{ centre;}, currently a European benchmark in the production, exhibition, and conservation of Technological and Digital Art.
The award is endowed with a prize of 30,000 euros, which may be increased at the discretion of the jury, composed of specialists of recognized prestige.
The award will be presented on Thursday 5 March at 17:30 at the winning gallery’s booth.
12th OPENING AWARD
In its 12th edition, the Opening. New Galleries Award will be presented by ARCO, once again to recognise the best booth in this section at ARCOmadrid 2026. The award will be decided by a panel of experts composed of Michelle Cotton, director of the Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Laura Hakel, curator at Fundación Arma Amoedo, Rebecca Lamarche Vadel, writer and curator, Ibrahim Nehme, director of the Lebanon Kunsthalle, and Bárbara Rodríguez Muñoz, director of the Centro Botín.
The award will be presented on Thursday 5 March at 12:45 in the Forum.
10th CERVEZAS ALHAMBRA AWARD FOR EMERGING ART
For the tenth consecutive year, Cervezas Alhambra has invited emerging artists from across Spain to participate in its renowned Emerging Art Award, which is presented at ARCOmadrid. This initiative recognises the talent of those who find inspiration in craftsmanship and in the value of time.
The philosophy behind this edition, “Sin Prisa” (Without Hurry), encourages artists to explore every detail and take care with each step of the creative process. It is a concept that values technique and reflection, giving meaning to every choice made in the work.
Participants present projects that combine craftsmanship and contemporary art, reinterpreting traditional techniques such as embroidery, ceramics, glasswork and wood carving, and giving them a fresh, contemporary perspective. An international jury evaluates both the artists' careers and previous projects, as well as the innovation and care taken in their proposals, before finally selecting a winner.
This year, the project entitled Conveyors, by Mónica Mays, winner of the 9th Emerging Art Award, will be exhibited at ARCOmadrid 2026 at the brand's stand. The piece has been produced over the last six months, during which Cervezas Alhambra has supported the artist throughout the creative process.
9th CATALINA D’ANGLADE ART AWARD
The designer Catalina D’Anglade will award the 9th Catalina D’Anglade Art Award to an artist taking part in ARCOmadrid 2026. Previous recipients of this award include Álvaro Urbano (2025), Susana Solano (2024), Ester Partegàs (2023), June Crespo (2022), Daniel Steegmann Mangrané (2020), Luis Gordillo (2019), Secundino Hernández (2018) and Fernanda Fragateiro (2017).
The award will be presented on Wednesday 4 March at 17:30 at the winning gallery’s booth.
6th LEXUS AWARD FOR BEST BOOTH AT ARCOmadrid 2026
Lexus is the official car and mobility solutions provider for ARCOmadrid 2026, and its involvement is part of the brand’s actions to support art and contemporary creation.
For the sixth consecutive year, Lexus will also be the patron of the Lexus Award for the Best Booth at ARCOmadrid 2026. Chus Martínez –Director of the Institute Art Gender Nature, Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW in Basel– and Omar López Chahoud –Independent Curator- will judge the competition, and the winner will be announced at the next edition of the fair.
The award will be presented on Thursday 5 March at 19:00 at the winner’s booth.
4th EMERIGE/CPGA AWARD
For the fourth consecutive year, the Emerige Endowment Fund* (Fond de Dotation Emerige) and the Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art (CPGA) launch the Emerige/CPGA Award, granted to a living artist active on the French art scene and exhibiting at ARCOmadrid 2026.
The Emerige/CPGA Award aims to reward the quality of a work of art and to honour the relationship between the exhibited artist and their gallery. The winning artist will receive a prize of €10,000, to be shared equally with the gallery exhibiting their work at the fair.
The jury of the Emerige/CPGA Award will be composed of directors of cultural institutions, curators of exhibitions and collectors.
3rd ENATE-ARCOmadrid 2026 AWARD
The artist Luis Gordillo, represented by the gallery Prats Nogueras Blanchard, has been awarded the 3rd ENATE-ARCOmadrid 2026 Award following the decision of the jury made up of Luis Nozaleda, CEO of ENATE, Rosina Gómez-Baeza, chair and founding partner of YGBART, and Violeta Janeiro Alfageme, art historian, curator and art researcher.
With a grant of €10,000, the work will become part of the ENATE collection and will be presented in its space in the Guest Lounge at ARCOmadrid 2026. In addition, this piece will become the label for a special, limited and collectible edition bottle, with 1,000 numbered bottles.
In 1992, the winemaker ENATE started to build a contemporary art collection that included works by both Spanish and international artists. Since then, each of the brand’s wines has been associated with a renowned artist who has created a piece of art to be used exclusively on the winery’s label. This commitment to contemporary art led the prestigious Somontano winery to join ARCOmadrid 2026.
The award will be presented on Thursday 5 March at 18:00 at the ENATE space, in the Guest Lounge.
2nd YOUNG TALENT AWARD AT OPENING. NEW GALLERIES
At ARCOmadrid 2026, the 2nd Young Talent Award at Opening. New Galleries will be presented to two artists under the age of 40 who present work in the section. Each artist will receive a prize of €10,000. The award is supported by the Fundación Banco Sabadell.
The jury, composed of Michelle Cotton, director of the Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, Laura Hakel, curator at Fundación Arma Amoedo, Rebecca Lamarche Vadel, writer and curator, Ibrahim Nehme, director of the Lebanon Kunsthalle, and Bárbara Rodríguez Muñoz, director of the Centro Botín, will select the two winning artists.
The award will be presented on Thursday 5 March at 12:15 in the Forum.
PILAR FORCADA ART SITUACIONS AWARD
The Pilar Forcada ART Situacions Award returns to ARCOmadrid 2026. On this occasion, the award will be granted by a panel of experts made up of Lorena M. de Coral and Ferran Barenblit. As in all previous editions, the winning artwork will become part of the ART Situacions collection.
Between 2017 and 2022, ART Situacions announced the annual ART Situacions Award at ARCOmadrid in recognition of the best emerging artwork at the fair. Antonio Ballester Moreno (2017), Carlos Irijalba (2018), Patricia Gómez and María Jesús González (2019), Asunción Molinos Gordo (2020) and Irma Álvarez-Laviada (2022).
In 2025, this award was consolidated and renamed as the Pilar Forcada ART Situacions Award in memory of the founder and director of ART Situacions, who was the soul of the project. The award granted €15,000 to the artist Lara Fluxà (Bombon Projects gallery).
The award will be presented on Thursday 5 March at 17:00 at the winner’s booth.
2nd ANTONI VILA CASAS ARCO AWARD
In line with its founding aim of promoting contemporary Catalan art, the Fundació Vila Casas is once again taking part in ARCOmadrid by announcig the ARCO Antoni Vila Casas Award, an acquisition award accompanied by an exhibition of the winning artist at the Can Framis Museum.
The award will be presented on Thursday 5 March at 18:30 at the winning gallery’s booth.
I PROFILES | LATIN AMERICAN ART AWARD
At ARCOmadrid 2026, the first edition of the PROFILES | Latin American Art Award for the Best Booth in the section will take place. This award recognises and celebrates curatorial and exhibition excellence within the section.
The prize will be awarded by a jury - Agustín Pérez Rubio, historian, professor, and art curator, and Andrea Torreblanca, director of the Tamayo Museum, Mexico City,- is supported and sponsored by Engel & Völkers, whose commitment to culture and contemporary creation strengthens this initiative aimed at highlighting outstanding proposals from the Latin American art scene within ARCOmadrid.
The award will be presented on Thursday 5 March at 16.00 at the winning gallery’s booth.
1ST CATAPULTA ACQUISITION AWARD IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA
Catapulta, a launch platform for Spanish contemporary art, and ARCOmadrid celebrate the first edition of the Catapulta Acquisition Award, in collaboration with the National Gallery of Canada. The award aims to promote the acquisition of works by Spanish artists for inclusion in prestigious international museum collections, through a co-funding format. The selection of the work will be made by Josée Drouin-Brisebois, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada, a leading institution founded in 1880 with a strong focus on global contemporary art.
Catapulta supports emerging and mid-career artists and curators in Spain, promoting their international projection and highlighting the quality and innovation of their artistic production. Driven by Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza and a group of patrons committed to Spanish contemporary art, the platform connects local talent with international opportunities, establishing itself as a key agent in the visibility and development of contemporary art in Spain.
The award will be presented on Thursday 5 March at 16.30 at the winning gallery’s booth.
2nd JUANA DE AIZPURU AWARD
On this occasion, ARCO has awarded the gallery Elvira González with the 2nd Juana de Aizpuru Award, a prize awarded to one of the galleries participating in ARCOmadrid 2026 to recognise its historical trajectory and its commitment to the fair.
The award will be presented on Friday 6 March at 13:00 in the Forum.