In the weeks since our contest closed, our jury has been immersed in prayerful review and careful discernment. Today, we are honored to announce the artists whose work has advanced to Semifinalist in the 2026 Engage Art Contest.

The Review Process

This year’s contest welcomed submissions from artists around the world, each showcasing talent and offering compelling engagement with Scripture. 172 works of art, from 33 countries, were accepted into the 2026 Engage Art Contest. All 172 are published in our virtual Gallery. We highly encourage you to explore these gifted creatives and their works of art.

The Jury

Engage Art is honored by a jury of distinguished artists who bring expertise in visual and video arts as well as experience in arts as ministry. Many jurors are longtime participants in the Engage Art community and understand our mission deeply.

A Word to Every Artist

Only a select group of works moved forward after this first phase of review. To every artist who submitted work: thank you.

The breadth of creativity, technical skill, and theological imagination represented in this year’s contest has been remarkable. Selecting Semifinalists was difficult—not because of a lack of quality, but because of an abundance of it. We celebrate the courage it takes to create and to share your work publicly.

If your work has advanced: congratulations. This distinction reflects notable artistic merit and places you among a small percentage of this year’s global submissions.

If your work did not advance: we see you, we are grateful for your contribution, and we honor your calling. We hope you will continue creating and participating in the life of this community.

What’s Next?

Our jury will now review the Semifinalists and advance a group of Finalists based on our four equally weighted criteria:

• Artistic excellence – Does the artist have command of their medium? Is this work executed at a high level?
• Theme – Does the work have something clear, compelling, and unique to say?
• Impact – Does the artwork invite the viewer into reflection or action?
• Scripture engagement – Does the work engage Scripture in a meaningful way?

We look forward to announcing Finalists in the coming weeks.

The Semifinalists

Congratulations to these artists. We are honored to share your work with the world. You can explore the 2026 Semifinalists in the Semifinalist Collection in our Gallery.