Introducing the winners of The Harris Open 2026

The 2026 edition of The Harris Open has seen over 400 submissions from Preston-based artists, creatives and community groups. Judging this year’s competition was:

• Lindsey McCormick, Fine Art Curator at the Harris
• Professor Peter Lloyd RE, Dean, School of Arts and Media, University of Lancashire and Chair, Friends of the Harris
• Phoebe Foxtrot, Illustrator and a previous Harris Open Winner
• Shawn Sharpe, Mural Artist and previous Harris Open exhibitor

Without further ado, we’re delighted to announce the winners of this year’s exhibition…

First Prize Winner | Minnie Kennedy-Parr

Title: How do you like me now?

Type of artwork: Acrylic on board

Minnie’s artist profile: Taking inspiration from the photography of Cindy Sherman, this self-portrait depicts the struggles of being a woman, performing to appeal, carefully curating masks as to not cause offence and what can be left behind when you spend so much time falsifying yourself and forget to be the person you were born to be.

Follow Minnie over on Instagram at @_minnie.art_

Second Prize Winner | Martin Jjunju

Title: The Librarian

Type of artwork: Acrylic on canvas

Martin’s artist profile: I am a visual contemporary artist, I use acrylics on canvas to bring out the vivid colours of people around me, the community and the environment, depicting their daily activities. I find this more meaningful as an inspiration. The Librarian is a young girl seated on a chair serving those taking and returning books.

Follow Martin over on Instagram at @jjunju.martin.127

Third Prize Winner | Stephanie Harlow

Title: I Thought You Were Dying

Type of artwork: Etching on paper

Stephanie’s artist profile: I am a portrait and figurative artist. My work primarily focuses on female stories that have been over-looked or trivialised and is heavily research based. This etching was inspired by my grandmother as I waited for an ambulance to arrive after she suddenly fell ill. She is a funny, well-read, hard-working proud Prestonian and I wanted to capture her strength and vulnerability.

Follow Stephanie over on Facebook at @ArtbyStephanieHarlow, TikTok at @StephanieHarlowArtist, or head to Stephanie’s website stephanieharlowartist.com.

Community Group Winner | Kind Local

Title: Quilt of Kindness

Type of artwork: Quilt made up of embroidered fabric squares

About the quilt: The Quilt of Kindness is a work of art, created by women from Kind Communities at Masjid Saliheen, Broadgate and the Catherine Beckett Centre. Each square is created with love and attention and is dedicated to Prestonians, new and old. Those who were born in Preston, and those who have chosen to make Preston their home. We hope this quilt will serve as a permanent reminder that Preston is a city of safety, sanctuary and solidarity.

Find out more about the work Kind Local do at kind-communities.org.

Under 12’s Winner | Leo Hague

Title: DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE OCEAN (NATURE BEING DESTROYED EVERY DAY)

Type of artwork: Ink and pencil on paper

Leo’s artist profile: Leo has grown a love of illustration from Youtube and video games. Since being diagnosed colour deficient a year ago, he has been practicing his art regularly so as not to let this hinder his creativity.

People’s Choice Winner | To be announced…

Found your favourite? Tell us! Head to Gallery One and cast your vote for the People’s Choice Winner. Take all day to ponder or go with your intuition, but make sure to fill in one of our voting cards and pop it into the box before 5pm on Wednesday, 18 March.

The winner will be announced at our artist networking event on Thursday, 19 March, on this webpage and on our social media channels.