OPEN Competitions, Exhibitions & Opportunities 2022
DECEMBER 21
The Pastel Society 2022 (PS) Details: The Pastel Society seeks the best in contemporary dry media for its 123rd annual exhibition, combining traditional skills with creative originality. Any artist over 18 may submit.
Exhibition: Mall Galleries, London, from February 16 to 26. Submissions deadline: Friday December 3, 12 noon. Contact: Enter online at https://www.mallgalleries. org.uk/call-for-entries/openexhibitions The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA)
Details: The Royal Society of British Artists invites painters, sculptors and printmakers to submit work for its annual exhibition in 2022. As well as skill and draughtsmanship, selectors will be looking for originality and creativity. The exhibition offers several prizes and awards worth over £5,000, presenting the opportunity to exhibit your work at a prestigious London gallery alongside well-established artists and have your work seen by thousands of visitors, including buyers and collectors. Any artist over 18 may submit.
Exhibition: Mall Galleries, London, March 3 to 12. Submissions deadline: Friday December 10, 12 noon. Contact: https://www. mallgalleries.org.uk/call-forentries/open-exhibitions
Visual Art Open 22 (VAO)
Details: The Visual Arts Open competition is a not-for-profit event open to amateur and professional artists based in the UK and internationally. Entries are invited now in five key categories: painting, mixed media and printmaking; illustration and drawing; sculpture; photography and digital art; and young artists (aged between 16 and 24).
Exhibition: Finalists’ work will be shown in an online exhibition. Submissions deadline: Wednesday December 15, 2021. Contact: Enter online at www.visualartopen.com
JANUARY 22
Derwent Art Prize Details: The Derwent Art Prize was conceived in 2012 and aims to reward excellence by showcasing the very best artworks created in pencil or coloured pencil as well as water-soluble, pastel, graphite and charcoal by British and International artists. A first prize of £4,000 is offered plus a year’s supply of Derwent products.
Exhibition: Gallery@OXO, London, from February 24 to March 6. Submissions deadline: January 4, 5pm (GMT) Contact: www.derwent-artprize.com Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI)
Details: The RI welcomes watercolour or water-soluble media to its 210th exhibition, including watercolour, acrylic, ink or gouache (excluding water-soluble oils) painted on paper or paper-based supports. The exhibition offers the opportunity to win awards, worth over £8,000, and have your work seen by thousands of visitors including buyers and collectors. Any artist over 18 may submit.
Exhibition: Mall Galleries, London SW1, April 14 to 23. Submissions deadline: Submission opens 29 November, 12 noon
and closes January 28, 12 noon. Contact: Enter online at https://www.mallgalleries. org.uk/call-for-entries/openexhibitions Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize 2023 Details: This biennial art prize, promotes and celebrates the practice of self-portraiture and offers established and emerging artists the opportunity to compete for the £10,000 Ruth Borchard Prize. Submissions: Open January 2023. Contact: www.ruthborchard.org.uk World Illustration Awards 2021 (AOI)
Details: Organised by the Association of Illustrators in partnership with the USAbased Directory of Illustration, the World Illustration Awards showcase the great work being made by illustrators all over the world today. The competition invites work from illustrators, commissioners, agents and tutors to one of ten categories. Submissions deadline: Open from December to February. Contact: https://theaoi.com Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP) Details: The society invites artists over 18 from all over the world to submit portraits for its annual exhibition. Acceptable media include paintings, drawings and original prints including digital/iPad prints.
Exhibition: Mall Galleries, London SW1 in May. Exact dates still to be announced. Submissions deadline: End of January. Check website for upto-date information. Contact: Enter online at https://therp.artopps.co.uk/ Sketch for Survival Introducing Details: Sketch for Survival is a charitable initiative organised by the charity Explorers Against Extinction to help raise awareness about species extinction and habitat loss while also raising vital funds for nominated frontline conservation projects through the sale of artworks. The exhibition is free to enter. Full guidelines will be published online from January 1.
Exhibition: One hundred artworks are selected from all submissions to join the Sketch for Survival exhibition tour. In 2021 the tour visited Norwich, London and COP26 in Glasgow. Submissions deadline: Submission details available from January 1. Contact: Enter online at www. explorersagainstextinction.co.uk
FEBRUARY
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2022
Details: The Royal Academy of Art’s Summer Exhibition is the world’s longest running and largest open-submission show. The exhibition brings together art in all media, from prints, paintings, film and photography to sculpture, architectural work and more.
Exhibition: Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly, London W1, June 21 to August 21. Submissions deadline: Early 2022, tbc. Contact: Look out for up-to-date information at www.royalacademy.org.uk The John Ruskin Prize Details: Organised by The Big Draw, the John Ruskin Prize is a multi-disciplinary art prize with the values of John Ruskin at its core. Sign up to the website to receive up-to-date news. Submissions deadline: Submissions open in February, tbc. Contact: www.ruskinprize.co.uk or www.thebigdraw.org Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Series 9 Details: Open to amateur and professional artists, Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year is a televised art competition, which celebrates artistic talent. Artists are selected on the basis of a self-portrait submission artwork. Contestants take part in one of eight heats, where they have four hours to complete a portrait of a mystery celebrity sitter. Prizes include a £10,000 commission. Filming is planned to take place at Battersea Arts Centre in March and April. Submissions deadline: February 11, 12 noon. Contact: To apply visit www.skyartsartistoftheyear.tv New English Art Club (NEAC) Details: The NEAC seeks work that demonstrates excellence in both concept and draughtsmanship. Artists over the age of 18 may submit paintings, drawings, pastels and original framed prints, not photography or sculpture.
Exhibition: Mall Galleries, London, May 27 to June 4. Submissions deadline: February 25. Contact: All work to be submitted online at https:// www.mallgalleries.org.uk/callfor-entries/open-exhibitions Also, keep checking the New English Art Club website at www.newenglishartclub.co.uk Jackson’s Painting Prize 2022 Details: Two-dimensional fine art entries are invited in any painting and drawing medium by artists of all abilities and ages. Submissions deadline: February/ March, tbc. Please check website for updates. Contact: www.jacksonsart.com for up-to-date information.
MARCH
St Barbe Museum & Art Gallery Open Exhibition 2022
Details: Now in its 23rd year, anyone can enter up to two works of art, including sculpture and textiles on any theme. Exhibition: St. Barbe Museum & Art Gallery, New Street, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 9BH, April 30 to June 11. Submissions deadline: Online submissions March 4 to 20. Contact: Full details available at www.stbarbe-museum.org.uk
Royal Scottish Academy Annual Open Exhibition (RSA)
Details: The Royal Scottish Academy provides opportunities for artists through a range of awards, scholarships and residencies. These include The RSA Morton Award for lens-based media; the RSA William Littlejohn Award for water-based media; The RSA David Mitchie Travel Award, providing opportunities for graduating and post graduate drawing and painting students; The RSA Barns-Graham Travel Award, offering travel and research opportunities for graduating and post graduate students; The RSA Benevolent Awards, awarding funds to support artists who are currently experiencing adverse financial difficulties; and the RSA Residencies for Scotland, a biennial artist-led scheme providing research and residency opportunities for artists. Keep checking the website for details as they become available. Submissions deadline: From early 2022 onwards. Contact: www.royalscottishacademy.org DSWF’s Wildlife Artist of the Year 2022 Details: Founded by the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation in 2008, DSWF’s Wildlife Artist of the Year is an internationally renowned wildlife art competition open to amateur and professional artists. The competition uses the power of the arts to celebrate wildlife and raise vital funds for endangered species. Categories include Animal Behaviour; Earth’s Wild Beauty; Facing Extinction; Into The Blue; Urban Wildlife; and Wings. The prize for the overall winner is £10,000.
Exhibition: Shortlisted works will be available to purchase on the DSWF website in September 2022, with 50-per-cent of the proceeds of artwork sales supporting DSWF and their ground-based conservation partners. Submissions deadline: From January 6 to March 31. Contact: website: https://davidshepherd.org email: way@davidshepherd.org
Chelsea Art Society
Details: Artists of all levels and any age are eligible to submit work. Admissible media include painting, sculpture, drawing and prints.
Exhibition: Chelsea Old Town Hall, London SW3, Jun, tbc.
Submissions deadline: Details and submissions forms will be available from March/April, tbc. Contact: www.chelseaartsociety.org.uk Bath Society of Artists Details: 117th annual open exhibition of works in all media, except photography; two works may be submitted.
Exhibition: Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, dates, tbc. Submissions deadline: Dates tbc. Contact: www.bsaorg.uk
United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society (UKCPS)
Details: Annual international exhibition open to all artists. Each work must comprise at least 50-per-cent dry coloured pencil. Exhibition: September, tbc. Online entry dates: March to June, tbc. Contact: www.ukcps.org.uk
APRIL
Society of Women Artists
Details: This year will be the society’s 161st Open Exhibition. Entries are invited by non-members. Up to four works may be submitted in any media, both wall-hung and three-dimensional.
Exhibition: Mall Galleries, September, tbc. Submissions deadline: Open for digital submissions in March. Check website for up-to-date information. Contact: https://www.societywomen-artists.org.uk/ Hampstead Art Society Open
Details: Open to all artists. Prizes include £2,000 cash, art materials from MH oil paints and Cass Art, plus a studio residency.
Exhibition: Fitzrovia Gallery, 139 Whitfield Street, London W1, from July 3 to 10. Submissions deadline: Opens for entries late January, until late April, tbc. Contact: www.hampsteadartsociety.uk
Buxton Spa Art Prize
Details: The Buxton Spa Art Prize is a semi en-plein-air art competition celebrating Buxton’s culture, natural beauty and heritage. Artists must register their interest via the website before mid-May, tbc.
Exhibition: Exhibition at The Green Man Gallery, Buxton, June/July, tbc. Submissions deadline: April to June, tbc. Contact: Check website for upto-date information at https:// www.buxtonspaprize.co.uk TALPOpen2022 Details: Organised by The Artist and Leisure Painter in partnership with Patchings Art Centre, the TALPOpen is looking for the best two-dimensional works in any media including drawing, painting, printmaking and digital artwork – from amateur painters in the
Leisure Painter category and from more experienced and professional artists in The Artist category. Up to 140 selected works – 70 from each category, will be exhibited at Patchings Art Centre in two separate galleries. Prize awards worth over £13,500, include The Artist Purchase Prize of up to £3,000.
Exhibition: Patchings Art Centre, Calverton, Nottinghamshire, July 14 to August 14. Submissions deadline: Thursday April 7, 12 noon. Contact: Full details on how to enter appear on pages 14 and 15 of this issue. Enter online via www.talp.co.uk
Postcards from the Trafalgar Way 2022 Details: The competition invites you to take a photograph or sketch, paint or design a postcard scene along the Trafalgar Way from Falmouth to London. Open to all ages. Submissions deadline: April, tbc. Contact: www.thetrafalgarway.org Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2021 Details: Open to amateur and professional artists, Sky Arts
Landscape Artist of the Year is a televised art competition from Sky Arts, which celebrates artistic talent. Contestants take part in one of six heats at various locations across the UK and Ireland, where they have four hours to complete their artwork. Prizes include a £10,000 commission. Filming is planned to take place around the UK during June. Submissions deadline: Open for entries now; closing at noon on April 14. Contact: For more details visit www.skyartsartistoftheyear.tv
MAY
Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize 2021
Details: Founded in 2017, the Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize is part of a wider project to assist and celebrate emerging women artists and is becoming one of the annual highlights for women painters trying to gain recognition for their work. Winning artists are
chosen excel in for the their art world potential with to cash prizes totalling over £6,000.
Exhibition and prize giving: The 22 finalists will take part in an exhibition at Lauderdale House, Highgate, London in the summer of 2022 along with the finalists from 2021. Submissions deadline: Opens for entries on February 1 (9am) and closes at midnight May 1. Contact: www. hollybushpaintingprize.com Earth Photo Details: Competition and exhibition developed jointly by Forestry England and the Royal Geographical Society giving photographers the chance to win cash prizes and exhibit work in central London and across England.
Exhibition: The Royal Geographic Society, London followed by a national tour. Submissions deadline: April to May. Contact: https://earthphoto.artopps.co.uk/ Wells Art Contemporary Details: Established in 2012 by artists for artists, Wells Art Contemporary (WAC) is an open competition for visual art based in Wells, Somerset. The yearly exhibition has already established a strong presence in the British art world, drawing artists from around the globe.
Exhibition: Wells Cathedral Submissions deadline: May 2022. Contact: https://wac.artopps.co.uk/ Figurative Art Now
Details: Figurative Art Now is a vibrant, online, selling exhibition and art prize organised by the Federation of British Artists, home of figurative art based at the Mall Galleries. The exhibition is open to all artists of any age working in the UK. The judges seek a variety of work, which must be figurative and can be created in a variety of media.
Exhibition: Online from June to September, tbc. Handing-in days: May, tbc. Contact: https://fan.artopps.co.uk
JUNE
Artsdepot Open Details: Annual open exhibition celebrating artists from across the UK, with a £3,000 prize. Exhibition: Artsdepot, London N12, July to September, tbc. Submissions deadline: early June, tbc. Sign up to receive up-todate information. Contact: www.artsdepot.co.uk Derbyshire Open Art Competition Details: Annual competition open to both amateur and professional artists of all ages. Most media is accepted,
including watercolour, oils, acrylics, drawing, print, collage, manipulated digital imagery and 3D work.
Exhibition: Buxton Museum & Art Gallery, June 25 to September 2. Handing-in days: June 10 and 11. Contact: Email buxton. museum@derbyshire.gov.uk or telephone 01629 533540. Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize
Details: The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize is the UK’s longest standing and most prestigious prize for contemporary drawing. Created in 1994, the Prize is known for its influential role in promoting artists and drawing practitioners, celebrating excellence in contemporary drawing, and championing the art form’s value as a means of communication.
Exhibition: Trinity Buoy Wharf, London before touring to other venues across the UK Handing-in days: June, 2022. Contact: https:// tbwdrawingprize.artopps.co.uk
JULY
Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA)
Details: Submissions of painting and sculpture are invited relating in some way to tidal waters of the world. Topographical, historical, still life, and figure painting are all welcome; works relating to non-tidal rivers – inland lakes and waterways, etc. are not. Acceptable media are oil, acrylic, watercolour, original prints of any media, mixed media, drawings, pastels or sculpture. Any artist over 18 may submit.
Exhibition: Mall Galleries, London, September 22 to October 1. Registration open: April 18, 12 noon until July 8, 12 noon. Contact: https://mallgalleries. org.uk/call-for-entries/openexhibitions Dorset Art Prize Details: Rewarding and celebrating art from across Dorset, the exhibition is free to enter by both emerging and established artists.
Exhibition: Poole Museum, November, dates tbc. Entry deadline: July, tbc. Contact: Keep checking the website for updates at www.thecollege.co.uk/artprize Aesthetica Art Prize 2023
Details: Since its establishment ten years’ ago, the Aesthetica Art Prize has provided a platform for artists across the globe to showcase their work through publication, exhibition, prize money and wider exposure. The judges are looking for artists who redefine the parameters of contemporary art. Submissions deadline: Open for submissions from December 2021 until summer 2022. Contact: Visit www.aestheticamagazine.com
AUGUST
Wales Contemporary
Details: Supported by the Welsh Government, Wales Contemporary/Cymru Gyfoes is the first international open exhibition dedicated to Wales. It celebrates all aspects of the country by inviting artists to submit work that is inspired by its people, its heritage,
its history, its traditions, its landscape as well as its contemporary culture.
Exhibition: A touring exhibition will start at The Waterfront Gallery, Milford Haven in Wales. Entry deadline: August 2022. Contact: https://wales contemporary.artopps.co.uk/ Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA)
Details: The Society of Wildlife Artists invites submissions of wildlife art for its annual
The Natural Eye exhibition. Any work depicting wildlife subjects is admissible, but not botanical and domestic animals. Artists over 18 may submit works in any medium.
Exhibition: Mall Galleries, London, Oct, tbc. Registration open: June to August, tbc. Contact: https://mallgalleries. org.uk/call-for-entries/openexhibitions
SEPTEMBER
ING Discerning Eye
Details: The ING Discerning Eye is an annual show of small works renowned for both its commitment to championing emerging artists and its unique curatorial approach. A panel of six prominent art world figures – two artists, two collectors and two critics – select works of art for the yearly exhibition.
Exhibition: Mall Galleries, London, dates tbc. Handing-in day: September 2022. Contact: https:// thediscerningeye.artopps.co.uk/ Royal Cambrian Academy Annual Open Exhibition Details: The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art invites submissions for its 2023 annual
open exhibition, dedicated to encouraging and portraying diversity within art. Both 2D and 3D work in any medium is welcome. Open to all artists and students of 18 and over.
Exhibition: Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy, early 2023. Submissions deadline: September to November, 2022. Contact: Enter online at https:// rcaconwyopen.artopps.co.uk/ Royal West of England Academy Annual Open Exhibition (RWA) Details: 169th annual open exhibition of works by emerging and established artists. Includes painting, printmaking, drawing, sculpture, architecture and photography.
Exhibition: Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, dates, tbc. Handing-in day: Subscribe to the gallery’s newsletter to be notified when submissions open. Contact: www.rwa.org.uk Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers (RMS)
Details: Entries are invited to the annual RMS open exhibition of miniature art. Up to five works may be submitted. At the time of going to press, dates were unconfirmed. Keep checking the website at www.royalminiature-society.org.uk for up-to-date information
Exhibition dates: Mall Galleries, London November 25 to early December, tbc. Handing-in day: June 1 to September 16. Contact: www.royal-miniaturesociety.org.uk or email: info@ royal-miniature-society.org.uk for more information. Great Sheffield Art Show Details: Annual art show for amateur and professional artists. In 2021 the exhibition was online only, until January 31, 2022. Details for 2022 still awaiting confirmation. Check website for updates.
Exhibition: Millennium Gallery, Sheffield, November, tbc. Handing-in day: September, tbc. Contact: www.greatsheffieldartshow.co.uk Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) Details: Artists aged over 18 may submit up to six works in oils, acrylic and water-soluble oil paint if it is framed as an oil. Glazing or wide mounts are not acceptable.
Exhibition: Mall Galleries, London, November/Dec, tbc. Registration open: June to September, tbc. Contact: https://www.mallgalleries. org.uk/call-for-entries/openexhibitions