Louisa Waterford Prize 2026
Past and Present
The Louisa Waterford Prize was founded in 2022 by The Tin Shed to celebrate the strengths of artists, makers and designers and to pay tribute to the legacy of Louisa Beresford (nee Stuart), Marchioness of Waterford.
Louisa was an accomplished artist and philanthropist, often described as a woman ahead of her time. Part of her philanthropic work included encouraging artisans to make a living from their skills. It's an ethos we share at The Tin Shed today, in supporting artists and makers via our events and online studios.
Held every two years, submissions for the third Louisa Waterford Prize are now officially open.
The theme of the 2026 Prize is "Past and Present".
Submissions for this year are now closed. We are currently processing applications and preparing to reveal our 2026 successful finalists here soon.
As well as being exhibited on the website, all successful submissions will be exhibited at the live Louisa Waterford Prize Exhibition held at Etal Village Hall, Ford and Etal, Northumberland, on Sunday May 24, 10.30am-4pm. We will be exhibiting around 20 pieces of work for the Prize.
The judges will announce the winner and runners-up just before the end of the event. Please see details of our judges below.
There will also be a People's Favourite voted for by visitors.
The Louisa Waterford Prize Exhibition Event on Sunday May 24, 2026 takes place at Etal Village Hall, along wit two separate solo exhibitions in the rear room at Etal - one by artist Linda Scott- Robertson and another by textile artist Natalie Goodman , who will also stage free demos of free-style machine embroidery.
There will also be two solo exhibitions at Lady Waterford Hall at Ford Village by artist Kevin Nicholls and textile artist Carrie Buchanan-Brown. Kevin will also stage free painting demos.
Various artists and makers already based at Ford and Etal, including sculptor Peter Fagan at Ford Village and paper cutting artist John Speight at Heatherslaw Mill, will also open up their studios with special exhibitions for the day.
We are planning a few more special arts' displays and demos as part of the event, so please keep an eye on our page for more information coming soon.
Entry is free to all venues. Dogs on leads are welcome.
Meet the Judges
Our panel of esteemed judges are passionate about supporting the local creative industry and also the legacy of Louisa Waterford.
Alison Diamond-Rogers
Artist/Printmaker
Until recently Alison worked as an Academic Tutor at Sunderland University teaching printmaking for Illustration, Graphics and Fashion. She is also a freelance artist/ consultant within community settings, initiating projects. A member of Northern Print Studios, Allendale Forge Network, The Tin Shed Artist Network and Hatton Gallery, she has exhibited her work nationally and internationally.
Chris Jackson
Journalist/Presenter/Producer
Chris is an award-winning TV presenter, reporter, investigative journalist and documentary producer. He spent 40 years in radio and TV and is passionate about his native northeast. Probably best known as a former Look North reporter/ presenter and for 18 years the face of BBC One's current affairs programme "Inside Out". He is now a freelance producer and a keen supporter of the local creative industry.
Mo Healy
Artist/Printmaker
Mo is an artist-printmaker based in Northumberland. Originally from Ireland, she trained as a stained glass and mosaic designer in London, receiving the Chase Award to study in Italy. She also works as a teacher, specialising in producing hand-printed, hand-stitched art books.
She runs workshops at various venues across Northumberland and the Borders, including Lady Waterford Hall.
About Louisa
Born Lady Louisa Stuart, she became Marchioness of Waterford after marrying Henry Beresford, Lord Waterford. She moved from his family seat in Ireland to Ford Castle in Northumberland following his death in the mid-1800's.
Already an accomplished amateur artist Louisa was well-known in London's elite artistic circles. She was tutored by art critic and author John Ruskin and they became good friends for about 40 years until her death. Louisa is also known for her philanthropic work. She and her husband built hundreds of new houses and a school for the estate workers in Ireland, as well as setting up sustainable craft industries to provide employment. Although still grieving when she arrived at Ford, she re-designed and improved living conditions on the estate and built a new school. That building is now Lady Waterford Hall.
She also improved living conditions for the mining communities near her husband's family home at Seaton Delaval in Northumberland and was instrumental in setting up a women's mission and fundraising following a pit disaster that killed over two hundred men and boys.
Today Ford's well-preserved buildings and the biblical scenes she spent 22 years painting stand as her legacy. Although Louisa and her work isn't as well-known as her male counterparts, the murals remain unparalleled by any other woman artist of Louisa’s generation across Europe.
