19 February 2026

Shepparton Art Museum announces the 2026 winner and runners-up of The Urbach.

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is pleased to announce the 2026 winner and runners-up of The Theodore Urbach Landscape Prize and Studio Scholarship (“The Urbach”), a $10,000 prize and scholarship encouraging explorations in the field Australian landscape painting. The 2026 Urbach prize and scholarship has been awarded to Melbourne-based artist Kate Lewis, with local artists Philip Hickingbotham and Creagh Manning named as the runners-up.

A runner-up to The Urbach last year, Kate Lewis re-applied this year to great success. Graduating with a Masters in Contemporary Art from the VCA in 2022, Lewis’ expressive oil painting and process-driven use of recycled and found materials underpins her practice. Lewis explores the tension that exists between the contradictions of our landscape—the vast beauty and the deep loss—whilst hoping to reveal some of her own sentiments of love, loss, and foreignness to a place.

Lewis says of the opportunity:

“I am so thrilled and proud to be the winner of the Urbach prize and scholarship for 2026. I cannot wait to fully immerse myself into the impressive SAM community and to be painting in collaboration with the surrounding grass and wetlands as our seasons change.”

The 2026 finalists were selected from fourteen applications to the prestigious award. Five artists from the twenty-three were shortlisted, going on to present their applications to an expert judging panel. The 2025 judging panel, chaired by SAM Artistic Director Danny Lacy, consisted of Dr. Drew Pettifer (Associate Professor RMIT and SAM Ltd Board member), Dr. Suzanne Fraser (Coordinator, Centre of Visual Art, Faculty of Fine Art and Music, University of Melbourne), and Blair French (CEO, Murray Art Museum Albury [MAMA]).

Of the applicants, Blair French says:

“The standard of work being undertaken by all the shortlisted artists for the Urbach was very impressive. The Urbach highlights the continuing significance of landscape painting as a contemporary practice connected to both history and evolving relationships to place and Country. I look forward to following the work of all the shortlisted artists over coming years.”

Caroline Esbenshade, SAM Curator – Community and coordinator of The Urbach, says:

“Coming into our third year, the program is really establishing itself. It was wonderful to have several prior applicants re-submit this year to great success, and it’s been very gratifying to see the number of competitive, local artists in the application pool. I’m looking forward to working with Kate Lewis; her practice has been growing rapidly the last few years, and I’m eager to see how she responds to our landscape, and how she will render our wetlands in her painting practice.”

As the winner of The Urbach, Lewis will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a scholarship stipend of $5,000 to support her as she undertakes the three-month scholarship at SAM’s onsite artist studio from 3 March to 3 June 2026. Lewis will be focusing on responding to the wetland ecosystems, with a particular lens on Gemmill Swamp and Reedy Swamp, to explore the distinctive light, flora, and rhythms of these ecosystems.

As runners-up, Philip Hickingbotham and Creagh Manning will each be awarded a $2,500 cash prize in recognition of their time and commitment in developing their applications.

ENDS

About SAM:

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) is located on Yorta Yorta Country, Shepparton, Victoria.

Serving as a dynamic cultural and community hub for the Greater Shepparton region, SAM is one of Australia’s leading regional art museums and the newest purpose-built collecting institution in regional Victoria. SAM houses one of the nation’s most significant collections of Australian ceramics and regional holdings of South Eastern Indigenous Art, and presents an inclusive museum experience that inspires creativity, forges meaningful connections, and celebrates the unique stories of our region.

Through its programs, events, collection, and temporary exhibitions, SAM creates opportunities for artists and creatives to engage audiences with contemporary ideas and issues, allowing the stories of our country’s ancient cultures and contemporary multicultural Australia to be discovered and exchanged.

Media enquiries, please contact Mikela Guseli, SAM Communications Officer.

p: (03) 4804 5009 e: mguseli@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au