Online Drawing Development Year, £20k Painting Prize & The Hari Art Prize
One Year Drawing Course, 10k Hari Art Prize, £20k Contemporary Painting Prize
Hi! This week's edition includes a year-long drawing programme you can do from anywhere, the returning £10k Hari Art Prize, and a painting prize with a £20k fund opening on Monday.
The Online Drawing Development Year (ODDY) is a year-long remote programme from the Royal Drawing School, an independent charity in Shoreditch. Designed for arts graduates and artists with an active studio practice, it runs across three terms from January to December 2027.
Students build their own timetable from over 35 online daytime and evening courses, with up to three classes per week per term. The programme also includes two one-to-one tutorials with a faculty member, six mentoring sessions with a core tutor, and peer crits. Two in-person studio days in Shoreditch are included, along with a student-organised exhibition at the RDS gallery.
Delivered entirely online, it suits artists outside London, international students, and those with access needs. Prior formal study helps but isn’t required; the school weighs studio practice and commitment to drawing equally. Read student stories here.
Cost: £4,150. Application deadline: 29th July 2026. Apply here.
Contemporary British Painting Prize
The Contemporary British Painting Prize opens for entries on Monday, with a total prize fund of over £20k including £8,000 for the winner and a £400 exhibitor’s fee for shortlisted artists. £25 entry, with exhibitions in Sheffield and London (closes 8th June)
The Hari Art Prize
Now in its fifth year, The Hari Art Prize is offering £10,000 and an exhibition to a UK art student or recent graduate (2021-2026). Run in partnership with A Space For Art and The Hari hotel in Belgravia, it’s free to enter and open to all disciplines (1st July)
Art Competitions
Selected competitions open on MoMa…
NEAC Artist Scholarships - £5,000 Ken Howard Foundation Scholarship, figurative painting, drawing or printmaking, Mall Galleries exhibition, £10 entry, UK (15 May)
Artes Mundi 12 - £40,000 1st prize, open call for nominations, any medium, National Museum Cardiff exhibition, free to nominate, global (31 May)
RSA Blackadder Houston Mid-Career Travel Award - £5,000 travel award, painters 15+ years out of art school, free entry, Scotland born or based (21 Jun)
Artists’ Collecting Society Studio Prize - £6,000 towards UK studio costs, any medium, free entry, UK/EEA/Australia/NZ graduates within last 4 years (30 Jun)
Discerning Eye Exhibition - £2,500 Founder’s Prize + multiple category prizes, all media, Mall Galleries London exhibition, £15 per work, UK (27 Aug)
UK Art Competitions - 39 open
Kid’s Art Competitions - 12 open
Photography Competitions - 11 open
Illustration Competitions - 4 open
Seeing the Robert Burns painting above in person got me wanting to try gold leaf again, first attempt didn’t end well but this video makes it look almost doable.
Art Opportunities
New arts jobs this week in England, Scotland, Wales, NI, Ireland & UK wide.
Art opportunities worldwide from Art Deadline, Art Rabbit & ArtConnect.
Art residencies at resartis and TransArtists.
Odds & Ends
A lovely half hour spent with 10 Leeds-based artists discussing creativity and where it comes from.
See you next time,
Grant