Irish artist’s work inspired by bike injury shortlisted for British art prize

A DUBLIN artist who is studying in London has been shortlisted for an industry prize for a unique piece of work inspired by an injury sustained in a bike accident.

Anna Mays is a post-graduate student at the Royal College of Art and a graduate of the University of Brighton whose work focuses on the human body.

Mays has been shortlisted for the 2026 Batsford Prize – an award for British-based undergraduate and postgraduate art students – it was announced today.

Anna Mays’ work Torso is inspired by a CT scan taken after she had a bike accident

The Prize is awarded in the categories of Fine Art, Applied Arts and Textiles, Book Illustration and Architecture, with ‘connections’ the theme for 2026.

Mays has been nominated in the Fine Art category for her sculptural work Torso 28.08.25, which is a life-sized print of etched steel panels inspired by a CT scan she had after a bike accident.

The piece, which is based on her head to pelvis scan, has been praised by the Batsford Prize judging panel for “juxtaposing the tension between the soft vulnerability of the human body and the cold invulnerability of steel”.

Talking about the shortlisted artists, Vaughan Grylls, Chair of Judges for The Batsford Prize 2026, said the standard of entries this year was “exceptionally high across all categories”.

Mays has been praised by the judging panel for her juxtaposition of the human body and steel

“One of the striking things noted was the way our theme of ‘connections’ was not only applied to subject matter and the wide use of materials but also to challenging our categories – Architecture, Fine Art, Applied Art & Textiles and Book Illustration,” he added.

“This shows how boundary-pushing, outward-looking and alive with human creativity visual arts in the UK remains, despite threats posed by the digital world.”

The winners of each category will be announced at a ceremony due to be held on May 13 at the Batsford Gallery in East London, alongside a featured exhibition of shortlisted work, where each category winner will receive £300.

The judges for the Batsford Prize 2026 are photographer, author and artist Vaughan Grylls; owner of Batsford Books Polly Powell; architect and visiting professor at the Manchester School of Architecture and Sheffield University, Mike Tonkin; founder of Spring Literary, an agency representing children’s authors and illustrators, Neil Dunnicliffe; Batsford’s Art Director Eoghan O’Brien, and textile artist and author Anne Kelly.

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