Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
£90k of Prizes, Young Artists Summer Show, RSA Exhibition, Wildlife Artist, Portrait Awards...
Hi and happy *checks calendar* late January! Let’s get a bumper edition of New Year art competitions and awards underway before I have to rebrand to MoMa Monthly…
First off is the 256th edition of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the aspirations of this year’s coordinator - RA Sculptor Ann Christopher…
“I plan to explore the idea of making space, whether giving space or taking space. This can be interpreted in various ways: to make space can mean openness – making space for something or someone, also making space between things”
The numbers: £90,000+ prize fund (based on 2023 prizes). £40 entry fee (allows 1 or 2 entries). 16,500 entry slots. 4,000 entries will be delivered to the Academy for the final round of selection. Last year saw 11,204 entries from the public with 998 artists making the cut and 1,613 artworks featuring in the 2023 exhibition, full list of prizewinners here. Open to UK and international artists.
Here’s a good BBC primer on who makes the cut and how it all works while this feature captures what makes the show so meaningful via Errol Theunissen’s painting of his autistic son ‘Don't Disturb Me, I'm Talking to my Nan’.
More entry info on MoMa. Good luck everyone. (closes on Tuesday, 13th Feb).
Art Competitions
Newly opened on MoMa…
The Gallery Open Call - £2,000 each to 10 artists to create 2D art for outdoor display, theme: ‘What does it really mean to be a woman?’, free entry, global (4 Feb)
Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition - 198th edition of Edinburgh’s equivalent to the RA Summer Exhibition, approx £4,000 of prizes (based on previous years), contemporary art and architecture, £20 entry (£10 students/u26s), global (21 Feb)
Alpine Fellowship - £3,000 1st prize awarded for best visual arts response to the theme ‘Language’, symposium venue TBA, free entry, global (1 Mar)
Wildlife Artist of the Year - £10,000 1st prize inc. £5k conservation donation, 50% of sales go to conservation work, £25/£15 entry, global (29 Mar)
New Light Sculpture Prize - £1,000 prize, open to sculptors & ceramists from the North of England, The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle show, £15 entry (30 Mar)
Scottish Portrait Awards (Fine Art) - £5,000 1st prize, anyone over 16, born, living or studying in Scotland, £10 entry, previous winners (2 May)
Anthology Art Competition - €500 prize and feature in Anthology magazine, any 2D media or theme, €10 early bird entry, 2022 winner, global (31 Oct)
UK Art Competitions - 22 open
Illustration Competitions - 3 open
Photo Competitions
Newly opened on MoMa…
Astronomy Photographer of the Year - £10,000 1st prize, ‘showcasing the world's best space photography’, 2023 winners, £10 entry, under 15s free, global (5 Mar)
Scottish Portrait Awards (Photography) - £6,000 of prizes, anyone over 16, born, living or studying in Scotland, £10 entry (free for phone award), previous winners (2 May)
Anthology Photo Competition - €500 prize and feature in Anthology magazine, theme: ‘Everyday Wonders’, €10 early bird entry, 2022 winner, global (31 Oct)
Photography Competitions - 6 open
Children’s Art Competitions
Newly opened on MoMa…
Our Earth Open Call Exhibition - online exhibition, earth theme related to climate, nature or biodiversity, all ages, global (4 Mar)
Our Earth Postcard Competition - 3 winners to be chosen from Leicester exhibition, earth theme related to climate, nature or biodiversity, under 18, global (11 Mar)
RA Young Artists’ Summer Show - exhibition at the Royal Academy, win vouchers and art materials, see last year’s show, ages 4-19, free entry, UK only (27 Mar)
Kid’s Art Competitions - 12 open
Art Opportunities
New arts jobs this week in England, Scotland, Wales, NI, Ireland & UK wide.
Art opportunities worldwide from Art Deadline, Art Rabbit & ArtistOpenCalls.
Art residencies at resartis and TransArtists.
MORTAL AND STRONG is an art project curated & directed by doctor, artist (and MoMa reader) Liz Murray. MAS is looking for artists with a vision of empowering people and addressing health inequalities through their art.
The project will capture the voices of 100 people with a story to share, translating this into multiple forms of art to be delivered across social media, podcasts, collated into a book and eventually presented at a fundraising exhibition event - more info.
Reading List
20 easy, mind-expanding ways to be much more creative - Sarah Phillips (Guardian)
The cringe stage - Samantha Clark on navigating ‘the creative gap’. (The Life Boat)
Learning To Play Piano When There Is No Recital - Kelsey McKinney (Defector)
Creative wisdom from Sir Michael… (1m 30s)
See you next week,
Grant