TFOB/FWA's Aline Goodman's Young Artist Awards
held March 14, 2026

March 14, 2026, marked the 14th year Friends of Western Art co-sponsored the Young Artist and Young Author awards ceremony during the Tucson Festival of Books. FWA recognized the 24 "Aline Goodman Young Artist Award" finalists at the Book Festival’s special presentation featuring children's book author and illustrator Adam Rex with an introduction by past multi-year "Young Artist Award" winner Brett Lewis.

2026 Aline Goodman Young Artist Award Winners with Young Author Award Winners

Photo courtesy of Samuel Wills

In addition, all Young Artist finalists were awarded a $100 art supply gift card, a commemorative poster, and the Young Authors and Young Artists Anthology of Winners. The audience enjoyed the parade of young artists proudly displaying their art pieces.

Your continued support of Western art was evident in the smiles and cheers from artists, parents and teachers.

The “Aline Goodman Young Artist Awards”:

FWA Director Emeritus Aline Goodman passed away in January 2021. She was a founding member of FWA 45 years ago and was a Board Member and Secretary of our organization for many of those years.

Besides being an accomplished artist, Aline was a passionate advocate of Western Art and a true friend to many Western artists. She was also a supporter of young artists developing their skills and expressing themselves in Western themes. We think adding her name to our Annual Young Artist Awards is an appropriate way to honor her memory.

The Tucson Festival of Books celebrates books and literacy at the fourth-largest book festival in the country. This two-day event features more than 300 presentations, 200 exhibitors, and countless opportunities to meet authors, poets, screenwriters, and journalists. Once again, the 2026 Festival featured book signings, panel discussions, staged entertainment, food vendors, children’s and Science City programming, and dozens of free activities for all ages on the University of Arizona Mall.