Art Competitions in the UK - Resources for Artists

The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 

The largest open contemporary art exhibition in the world

Summer Exhibition - Royal Academy of Arts

One of the founding principles of the Royal Academy of Arts was to 'mount an annual exhibition open to all artists of distinguished merit' to finance the training of young artists in the RA Schools. Now known as the Summer Exhibition and held every year without interruption since 1769, the exhibition attracts around 10,000 works, the selection being carried out by Academicians chaired by the President.

BP Portrait Award 

The most prestigious portrait competition in the world

National Portrait Gallery - BP Portrait Award 2009

Enter Online

• First Prize: A cash award of £25,000, plus, at the judges' discretion, a commission worth £4,000, to be agreed between the National Portrait Gallery and the artist.
• Second Prize: £8,000
• Third Prize: £6,000
• BP Young Artist Award (An award for entrants aged 18 to 30): £5,000
• BP Travel Award 2009: £5,000

Open to Everyone Over 18

For artists working in the portrait genre aged over 18 and living anywhere in the world it represents a unique opportunity to display their portrait painting in the BP Portrait Award exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in the centre of London. It certainly attracts a very healthy level of interest and entries from international artists.

Making a Mark: Craig Wylie wins BP Portrait Award 2008

Craig Wylie has won the first prize in the BP Portrait Award - as I predicted on this blog last week. In fact, I did rather well as I also predicted that Peiyuan Jiang would win the Young Artist Award (for an artist aged 18-30) - and he won too.

Making a Mark: BP Portrait Award 2009 - Call for Entries

Online entry for the BP Portrait Award 2009 opens today - 15th December 2009.

Bulldog Portrait Bursary  

The Royal Society of Portrait Painters - Bulldog Portrait Bursary

The bursary is worth £5,000. It will be primarily up to the winner as to how they spend the budget. The RP propose to allocate a member as a mentor and the winner will be required at various points throughout the year to report on their progress. They will be invited to exhibit at the RP annual show.

The winner will be invited to spend time with a number of our members throughout the following academic year.

Making a Mark: The Bulldog Bursary - an apprenticeship in portraiture

The Bulldog Bursary is that rare privilege - an educational project and a national bursary created to promote professional and artistic development within the field of painted portraiture. It's a prize which is subject to competition and comprises:

* a bursary of £5,000,
* studio space at the Art Academy, close to Tate Modern and
* most importantly, it offers a talented up and coming artist the opportunity to work alongside and be mentored by the members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP).

RWS / Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 

The premier watercolour prize in the UK - and limited to artists living in the UK

Parker Harris - The RWS / Sunday Times Watercolour Competition

Now generously sponsored by the Royal Watercolour Society & The Sunday Times, this prestigious competition aims to encourage the use of watercolour and water based media paintings among both amateur and professional artists.

Royal Royal Watercolour Society Competitions

RWS competitions

Making a Mark: RWS/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition - prizewinners and selected artists

Yesterday in the Sunday Times, arts correspondent and juror Frank Whitford announced the prizewinners in the Royal Watercolour Society / Sunday Times Watercolour Competition.

I'm highlighting the winners first and then focusing on the artists selected for the exhibition in this post. There will be another post once I've seen the exhibition which opens on 10th September.

Making a Mark: RWS / Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2008 - exhibition review

In this post I'm going to try and give a bit of the flavour of the exhibition of the RWS/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition which opened yesterday in its new home at The Bankside Gallery in London - which is also home of its new sponsor, The Royal Watercolour Society. The exhibition opened yesterday on 10th September and continues until Sunday 21st September.

Winners of The Royal Watercolour Society/Sunday Times Watercolour competition announced - Times Online

Jonathan Pike won first prize for Monte Carlo while Danny Markey's Camper Van and Car, Falmouth Bay, scooped second

Making a Mark: Exhibition Review - Royal Watercolour Society / Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition

My review of the exhibition of the selected entries for the RWS/Sunday Times watercolour competition 2009 - with images of works in the gallery

21st Century Watercolour Competition 

a competition run by the Royal Watercolour Society

21st Century Watercolour Competition 2009

Artists are invited to submit up to three framed, glazed water-based paintings on paper. Work is selected by a panel of judges.

Making a Mark: 21st Century Watercolour 2009 - call for entries

Today I'm posting the details of how to enter 21st Century Watercolour 2009, an annual open painting competition organised by the Royal Watercolour Society.

Making a Mark: 21st century watercolour - RWS 2008 painting competition

21st Century Watercolour is an annual open painting competition organised by the Royal Watercolour Society, which usually takes place in the Spring.

THE THREADNEEDLE PRIZE for painting and sculpture 

THE THREADNEEDLE PRIZE for painting and sculpture

Artists will soon be able to register online on this website.

The competition welcomes direct and authentic statements on themes of topical social, political or environmental interest, as well as re-workings of other traditional figurative themes.

After selection, exhibiting artists will be invited to submit a short text on why they chose their subject and its significance. The text will be placed alongside their work.

Works can be submitted in a variety of different media. Paintings, original prints and drawings, sculpture, mixed media constructions, relief and other figurative installations are all acceptable, but not photography or video. The selectors will also welcome submissions that innovate and stretch the boundaries of traditional figurative media, without compromising technique or artistic excellence.

There will be no invited or curated element.

Making a Mark: Nina Murdoch wins the Threadneedle Figurative Prize 2008

Nina Murdoch, 38, is the winner of the inaugural year of the £25,000 Threadneedle Figurative Prize for Untitled, her amazingly luminous egg tempera study of a derelict corner of South London. It's been described as a work that transforms the mundane into something sublime.

I'm rather cockahoop as I was not only the first person to cast a vote in the gallery but was also the first person to vote for Nina's work!

Making a Mark: Threadneedle Figurative Prize (part 1) - view the entries and vote!

The £25,000 Threadneedle Figurative Prize is brand new and is the largest art prize in the UK ever to be decided entirely by the public - based on votes in the gallery and cast online.

The public are choosing from a shortlist of seven artworks - which you can see in this post. Interestingly the shortlist offered in this first year of this very prestigious new prize for figurative work looks nothing like the photorealistic works which crop up so very often in the shortlist for the BP Portrait Award.

Making a Mark: Threadneedle Figurative Prize (part 2) - Green, Mills, Murdoch and Schierenberg

I saw the exhibition of works accepted for the Threadneedle Figurative Prize on Tuesday and was very impressed with the overall standard and presentation.

Making a Mark: Threadneedle Figurative Prize (part 3) - Brandford, Shaw, Williams and the DVD

Following on from yesterday's post about artists short-listed for the Threadneedle Figurative Prize, the ones I'm commenting on today are the ones that I responded to less on an emotional level. Which is not a comment on their skill or their concepts - just that they didn't reach out to me in the same way.

Making a Mark: Threadneedle Prize Registration Opens

It's interesting to see how the criteria for entry have been changed and refined since last year's very successful inaugural year (see last year's call for entries here) when over 2,700 entries were submitted to the 11 regional prize drop off points around the UK

Making a Mark: Threadneedle Prize - exhibition goes online today

Today's the day (August 14th) that the 87 paintings and sculpture selected for this year's £25,000 Threadneedle Prize exhibition go online at www.threadneedleprize.com/exhibition. Images have been published however voting by the public will not start online until 1st September.

Making a Mark: Exhibition review: The Threadneedle Prize - the shortlist

Today the Threadneedle Prize Exhibition opens to the public, having been online since 14th August. I had a chance to see it yesterday while the hanging was being finalised and have had a good look at all the shortlisted candidates.

This post is about the shortlisted works.

Making a Mark: Selection for Threadneedle Prize & my shortlist

Which Threadneedle piece gets your vote? is an article written by Brian Sewell, the art critic of the London Evening Standard about the selection process for this exhibition. He was one of the jurors last year and observed the selection process this year.....

I love being a jury of one - there's none of those pesky alternative perspectives to deal with! Here's my choice of an alternative shortlist. I'm not choosing any of the official shortlist on purpose - although I would have given serious consideration to a couple of the pieces.

Making a Mark: Sheila Wallis wins £25,000 Threadneedle Prize

The public have voted in their thousands. The votes have been counted and tonight came the announcement that Sheila Wallis has been awarded the 2009 Threadneedle Prize (£25,000) for her self-portrait.

Lynn Painter Stainers Prize 

Parker Harris - Entry details for the Lynn Painter Stainers Prize

Full details including submission rules & dates for the 2009 competition will be announced in 2009.

Making a Mark: Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2008 and Exhibition

The exhibition for The Lynn Painter Stainers Prize opened at Painters Hall in the City of London yesterday. I went along to see it and got permission to take some photos so you can also see something of what this exhibition is like too as part of this exhibition review.

Making a Mark: Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize - selected artists announced

The artists selected for this year's Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize were announced yesterday by the organisers Parker Harris.

Making a Mark: Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2008 - deadline 15th September

The deadline for applications from representational painters for the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize is fast approaching. Artwork starts being collected from regional collection points in just under a weeks time. Those who can get to the City of London Hand In centre have slightly more than two weeks - final submissions will be received on Sunday 14 and Monday 15 September 2008.

This is the fourth year of the Prize which was created to encourage creative representational painting and to promote the skill of draughtsmanship. Prize money this year totals £22,500.

Making a Mark: Shortlist for Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2009 announced

Six artists have been shortlisted for the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2009. This competition is designed to encourage creative representational painting and promote the skill of draughtsmanship. It attracts prize money totalling £22,500.

I'm struck by how the six works although varied in style seem to fit together - indicating to me that there may have been more of a unity of vision and agreement among the judges this year.

Making a Mark: Exhibition review: Toby Wiggins wins Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2009

Last night at the Private View at Painters Hall, Toby Wiggins was announced as the winner of the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize 2009 for his painting Suspended Animation (pictured right).

ING Discerning Eye 

Parker Harris - entry details for ING Discerning Eye

Full details including submission rules & dates for the 20089 competition will be annoucened in early 2009

The Discerning Eye - home page

The Discerning Eye - charity promoting awareness of the visual arts in the UK

The Discerning Eye - exhibition archive

The Discerning Eye - charity promoting awareness of the visual arts in the UK

An archive of the exhibitions from 1990 - 2008

Making a Mark: ING Discerning Eye at the Mall Galleries (November 2007)

I went to see the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition at the Mall Galleries yesterday. It's a unique art event insofar as it is the exhibition of pieces which have been chosen by two artists, two collectors and two critics who act as selectors for what are, in effect, six individual parts of the same exhibition.

2,300 contemporary artworks are submitted by artists from all over the UK. Artists in the process of establishing their careers can display work alongside well known artists.

Making a Mark: Susan Angharad Williams exhibits at ING (November 2008)

Next week the ING Discerning Eye exhibition opens at the Mall Galleries. Last year, Susan Angharad Williams, won the the ING Purchase Prize at the 2007 ING Discerning Eye exhibition with her work Still Life with Artichoke (see top). Last week, I was invited by Susan to attend the Private View of her new exhibition at the ING Offices at 60 London Wall in the City of London.

Making a Mark: ING Discerning Eye 2008 - a review

The ING Discerning Eye exhibition 2008 opens to the public today at the Mall Galleries. Yesterday I had a couple of opportunities to get a preview of the exhibition and below you can find a review of what I saw. An innovation this year is that you can now you see all the work online in a gallery on the Discerning Eye website.

Making a Mark: ING Discerning Eye 2008 - a review

The ING Discerning Eye exhibition 2008 opens to the public today at the Mall Galleries. Yesterday I had a couple of opportunities to get a preview of the exhibition and below you can find a review of what I saw. An innovation this year is that you can now you see all the work online in a gallery on the Discerning Eye website.

Making a Mark: ING Discerning Eye 2008 - Prizewinners

The prizewinners in the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition have now been announced.

The major prize, the ING Purchase Prize (£5,000) has been awarded to Hedge-garden, August (1/48) by Cedric Huson.

Making a Mark: Exhibition Review - ING Discerning Eye 2009

I went to see the ING discerning Eye exhibition last Friday. I've always found that I relate to some judges and their selections more than others but this year I found myself this year virtually ignoring the selections made by two of the judges - as did the panel which awarded the prizes.

Jerwood Drawing Prize 

Jerwood Visual Arts - Drawing

The number of artists submitting work, and the coaches of students arriving at the Jerwood Space and each venue every year testify to the interest and focus of many established and emerging artists on the role of drawing within their practice, be it exploratory, affirmative, generative, transformative, or summative. The visitor numbers on the tours also testify to the popularity of the exhibition with a wider audience.

The administrative centre for the exhibition is based at Wimbledon College of Art, one of London's outstanding specialist art schools. The project is delivered through the working partnership of Wimbledon College of Art and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation.

The Jerwood Drawing Prize, Exhibition.

The Jerwood Drawing Prize, Exhibition.
The aim of the exhibition is to promote and reward talent and excellence in contemporary drawing.
Jerwood Drawing Prize, Wimbledon College of Art, Merton Hall Road, London SW19 3QA Telephone: 020 7514 9709
plus email address

Wildlife Artist of the Year 

run by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

Wildlife Artist of The Year

Wildlife Artist of the Year - Win £10,000 by entering this exciting art competition

5 categories:
Endangered Wildlife - Any wild animal or plant that is threatened or endangered nationally or internationally.
Wild Place - Any scene or landscape showing the natural environment at its wildest, most beautiful or dramatic.
Wildlife in 3D - Any sculpture in any medium.
Wildlife in Action - Any wild animal jumping, fighting, flying or showing any other interesting behaviour.
Open - Let your imagination run wild!

The judges will accept any medium (excluding photography and film and electronically created artwork) in any style - oil, acrylic, watercolour, pencil, mixed media, bronze, plaster, wire, collage, traditional, abstract, black & white - the list is endless and the choice is yours.

The National Exhibition of Wildlife Art 

National Exhibition Of Wildlife Art

This is the biggest and most successful, open selling, exhibition of Wildlife Art outside London. All artwork is for sale.

BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2009 

BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2009

The competition is open to both professional and amateur artists, and it's free to enter. There are 14 different categories. Each category will have a winner chosen by our panel of expert judges. Their artwork will be displayed with the annual exhibition of the Marwell International Wildlife Art Society and published in BBC Wildlife in August 2009. Plus, the overall winner will be awarded the title 'BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year 2009' and will win a place on the 2010 Festival of Wildlife in Brazil

Art Magazine competitions 

Artist of the Year 2009 - Artists and Illustrators Magazine

The search for the Artists & Illustrators Artist of the Year 2009 is now under way! Last year, we had more than 1,500 entries, with the quality, quantity and sheer inventiveness coming as a refreshing surprise to our expert panel of judges ? including Prof. Maurice Cockrill, Head of the Royal Academy Schools.

Artists & Illustrators (A&I) magazine is the best-selling magazine for professional artists and aspiring amateurs, it provides both inspiration and practical advice to its readers through features, profiles and interviews of accomplished artists or new talent and previews of forthcoming show

Blogging about Juried Art Competitions 

Making a Mark: Juried art competitions - does size matter?

Bigger is better. Small is beautiful. Does size matter?

I know - one of those perennial questions which always gets asked but in this post I'm asking this question in relation to juried art exhibitions.

Recently somebody commented (offline) on the photo below of the award-winning paintings in my recent post RWS / Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2008 - exhibition review. The comment was to the effect that my reader hadn't previously realised the size of some of the paintings being exhibited.

Joanne Mattera Art Blog: Marketing Mondays: Juried Shows

A review of what helps when trying to get into juried shows

Making a Mark: Selection, jurying and must-see lists

Last night I read a post post about jurying and criteria and this morning I got an email about another list of 100 must-see blogs (I'd been included).

What is it about selection, jurying and ranked lists that always generates a response in most people - including me?

If there's one thing I've learned from watching people enter work into exhibitions it's that the decision will vary depending on who looks at the work in a given context. What gets rejected from one exhibition will win prizes in another.

Making a Mark: Selection, jurying and must-see lists

What is it about selection, jurying and ranked lists that always generates a response in most people - including me?

Emotional response - The word 'selection' has all sorts of potential negative connotations - it's associated with 'rejection' as well as 'success'. It's both a 'turn on' and a 'switch off'.

Not surprising then that people can often feel twitchy and also feel a need to explain their reasons when consciously making a selection.

However when one person is chosen over another it does not mean that the person who is not chosen is 'not good enough'.

Art competitions - challenges and complications 

Making a Mark: Art competitions and copyright - the AWS Gold Medal debate

This is a lengthy post highlighting issues relating to the use of reference photographs for artwork and is of relevance to:

* art societies which have to deal with disputes about copyright
* artists selling work or entering competitions with artwork based on a reference photo taken by somebody else, and
* artists who work in a hyperrealistic/photorealistic way.

Making a Mark: American Watercolor Society Gold Medal - the final verdict on Sheryl Luxenburg

It was a long time coming, however last month the American Watercolor Society, Inc., (AWS) finally released the following statement to the AWS membership and the artist community at large about the withdrawal of 2008 Gold Medal from Sheryl Luxenburg.

Making a Mark: Government seizes control of Singer & Friedlander

This post is about the impact of the banking crisis and the looming recession on the sponsorship of art competitions and prizes.