Art Prizes and Awards are vital for helping an artist gain recognition and a collector base – so it’s important that artists apply regularly for prizes. Compiled below is a list of notable Art Prizes for emerging artists along with details of New Blood Artists who have been commended or awarded these prizes.
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Art prizes & grants
Abbey Awards Scholarships and Fellowships for Painting
Selected NBA Artists:
Scholarship in painting
Iain Andrews -2015
The Aesthetica Art Prize
Now in its 10th year, the Aesthetica Art Prize is a celebration of excellence in contemporary art from across the world. Prizes include an exhibition, £5,000 courtesy of Hiscox, publication and more.
Angus Hughes – LUBOMIROV – Summer Salon & Open Call
Selected NBA artists:
Enzo Marra – 2015
Orlanda Broom – 2015
Sophie Baker – 2015
Daisy Clarke – 2016
The Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize
Awarded to artists showing significant potential, interesting ideas and a relevant message. The Prize is for the emerging artists of all ages and career paths, whether student, graduate, full-time or part-time, and from any country, and aims to find and build the careers of emerging talented artists and get their work seen by a wider audience.
Ashmolean Museum Vivien Leigh Prize
Selected NBA artists:
Emiko Aida – 2014
ART LEVEL design festival
Finalist:
Glib Franko – 2015
The BP Portrait Award
Selected NBA artists:
1st Prize
Peter Monkman – 2009
Shortlisted:
James Matthew O’Connell – 2013, 2014
Beers Contemporary Award for Emerging Art
The annual Beers Contemporary aims to identify current trends in contemporary art through the discovery of artists working in all artistic disciplines. This is a remarkable opportunity for young, emerging artists.
Selected NBA artists:
Charlotte Jonerheim – 2014
Bienal Douro
Invited NBA Artist:
Margaret Ashman – 2014
Bloomberg New Contemporaries
New Contemporaries is the leading UK organisation supporting emergent art practice from British Art Schools.
Selected NBA artists:
Myka Baum – 2009
British School at Rome Visual Art Prize
Shortlisted NBA artist:
Iain Andrews – 2009
The Catlin Art Prize
Selected NBA artists:
Bartosz Beda – 2012
Chelsea Arts Club Trust
The Trust has established a range of bursaries and awards for practising artists and designers, emerging art and design graduates, and secondary schools. The aim is to recognise and enable talent, create opportunities for those lacking funds, support research, and set artists and designers on the path to long-term professional careers.
Celeste Art Prize
Selected NBA artists:
Shortlisted:
Iain Andrews – 2007
The Columbia Threadneedle Prize
Focuses on figurative (representational) art.
Selected NBA artists:
Keith Robinson – 2014
Emma Hartley – 2015
Keren Luchtenstein
Shortlisted:
Orlanda Broom – 2016
Contemporary British Painting Prize
Selected NBA artists
John Brennan – 2017
Paul Smith – 2017
Converse x Dazed Emerging Artist Award
The Creekside Open
Selected NBA artists:
Enzo Marra – 2015
Beau Rouse – 2015
DAIWA Foundation Art Prize
The DAIWA Anglo-Japanese Foundation is a UK charity, establishes on 1988 with the support of DAIWA Securities Co Ltd. Its Purpose is to support closer links between Britain and Japan in all fields of activity, including the visual arts.
Dazed
A non-conformist art prize. There are no constraints on medium or intention. It is designed to support young talent at the moment it needs it most and welcomes the applicants who are unrepresented and out of education.
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation – set up in 1955 to contribute to the success and development of emerging artists from around the world.
Selected NBA artists
Blair McLaughlin
Royal Society of Portrait Painters
De Laszlo Foundation Prize for an outstanding portrait by an artist under 35
The John Ingram Memorial Prize for young artists.
The Future Generation Art Prize
Est. in 2009 and is an international contemporary art prize that support young emerging artists. Exhibition of the previously shortlisted artists is held in the framework of Collateral program of the 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
Frieze Artist Award
Now in its second year, it is a major opportunity for UK and International artist between 25 – 40 years of age. The award includes a budget of up to £20,000 for production, research and development, artist fees and travel expenses.
Griffin Gallery Open
Selected NBA artists:
Iain Andrews – 2015
Orlanda Broom – 2015
Paul Smith – 2015
Art Gemini Prize
To promote international contemporary art for emerging and established artists around the world.
Selected NBA artists:
First Prize:
John Brennan – 2015 (painting and sculpture)
Eigil Nordstrom – 2014
Arte Laguna Prize
Selected NBA artists:
Finalist:
John Brennan – 2015
Griffin Art Prize
The Griffin Art Prize 2014 UK is an exciting opportunity for emerging artists in painting and drawing. The prize offers one outstanding candidate a six month residency in the Studio Building, 21, Evesham street, London W11 4AJ.
Selected Artists from NBA:
Andreas Soldini – 2014
Hans Brinker Prize
Selected NBA artists:
First Prize:
James Matthew O’Connell – 2014
The Haworth prize
The NEAC seeks submissions of northern English landscape or cityscape by young artists living in the North of England.
Hidden Door
Hidden Door is a not for profit arts festival that takes place in abandoned or hidden places in Edinburgh.
Selected NBA artists:
Mary Watson – 2016
Discerning Eye exhibition
A show of small works. It provides an opportunity for lesser-known artists to showcase alongside contributors from internationally recognised names.
Selected artists from NBA:
John Clark – 2015
Margaret Ashman – 2015
Rosemary Lewis – 2014
Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf – 2014
John Hainsworth – 2014
Keith Robinson – 2014
Beau Rouse – 2014
Debbie Ayles – 2010
International Print Prize, Guanlan Print Biennial
Selected NBA artists:
Margaret Ashman – 2011
Emiko Aida – 2011
International Print Biennale, Print Award
One of the biggest events for printmaking in the UK.
Jerwood Drawing Prize
Jerwood Painting Fellowships – a structured development opportunity for three exceptional painters within the five years of beginning their practice.
Eligibility: UK resident and be within 5 years of graduating.
Bursaries: Three bursaries of £10,000 to create new work, a group exhibition and critical mentoring support over one year period.
Selected NBA artists:
Prize winner:
Iain Andrews – 2011
Shortlisted:
Iain Andrews – 2011 (Jerwood Painting Fellowship)
Karen Grainger – 2011 ( Jerwood Photography Awards)
Joanne Hummel-Newell – 2011 (Jerwood Drawing Prize)
John Moores Painting Prize
A biennial award to the best contemporary painting, submission is open to the public.
Selected NBA artists:
Shortlisted:
Enzo Marra – 2014, 2016
David Ohm – 2014
Paul Smith – 2013
Keith Robinson – 2016
Long listed:
Paul Smith – 2014
Debbie Ayles – 2004, 2010
John Ruskin Prize
Selected NBA artists:
Shortlisted:
Julian Bovis – 2015
Krakow International Print Triennial
Long listed:
Emiko Aida – 2015
The London Group Open
The London Group holds a prestigious biennial Open Exhibition where artists, at all stages of their careers, are invited to submit work to exhibit alongside members’, with at least half the exhibitors being non-members.
Shortlisted:
Enzo Marra – 2015
Orlanda Broom – 2015
London Photographic Awards
Selected NBA artists:
Elayne Barre – 2006 (still life)
Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize
The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize is an annual art award, intended to encourage creative representational painting and draughtsmanship. It gives out prizes totalling £25,000.[1] The prize originated in London in 2005.
Selected NBA artists:
Debbie Ayles – 2014
John Clark – 2017
Anna McNeil – 2017
LUKAS Drawing Prize
Selected NBA Artists:
Iain Andrews – 2002
Marmite Prize for Painting
Selected NBA artists:
Prize Winner:
Iain Andrews – 2011, 2008
National Open Art Competition
The National Open Art Competition is administrated by the Chichester Art Trust a registered charity whose aim is to provide a truly open and fair platform for all UK and the Republic of Ireland artists to exhibit, sell and promote their work through the medium of an annual National Open Art Competition with well respected judges producing exhibitions which are shown in London, Chichester and other venues around the UK.
Selected NBA artists:
Prize Winners:
Emiko Aida – 2014, 2015 (The Ward Thomas Award for her work ‘Requiem’,)
Bartosz Beda – 2012 (The TOWRY AWARD for the Best of North of England in)
Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf – 2012 (NOAC Catherine Petitgas Award)
Iain Andrews – 2011 (The TOWRY AWARD for the Best of North of England )
Shortlisted:
Emiko Aida – 2015
Electra Costa – 2013 & 2014
Charlotte Munro – 2015
Joanna Hulin – 2015
Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf – 2015
John Hainsworth – 2015
NEAC Drawing School Scholarship.
Neo: Art prize
Selected NBA artists:
Enzo Marra – 2015
Paul Smith – 2015
Electra Costa – 2013
Neo: Graduates
Selected NBA artists:
Charlotte Jonerheim – 2013
Open Up North
Selected NBA artists:
Iain Andrews – 2014
Palm Art Award
Certificate of Excellence:
Brigitte Yoshiko Pruchnow – 2015
Phyllis Roberts Award
An award of £2,000 in memory of Phyllis Roberts ROI to encourage and support young painters.
THE ROI Annual Open Exhibition
The only national art society devoted exclusively to oil painting. As part of their Annual Exhibition they award number of awards for artists under 35.
Royal Society of British Artists
Royal Watercolour Society Award – St Cuthberts Mill for contemporary watercolour works on paper.
Winner:
Joanne Hummel-Newell – 2015
Shortlisted:
Anna McNeil – 2013
John Ingram Memorial Prize
Winner:
India Bunce – 2011
Saatchi New Sensations
Selected NBA artists:
Shortlisted:
Bartosz Beda – 2012
Soo Jin Yoo – 2014
Jack Towndrow – 2014
Long listed:
Blair McLaughlin – 2014
Charlotte Jonerheim – 2012
Signature Art Prize Competition
Selected NBA Artist:
Shortlisted:
Electra Costa – 2013, 2012
Sir Leslie Joseph Young Artist Award
Open to young practising artists, graduate and post graduate art students who have received part of their education in Wales. It offers the winning artist an opportunity to stage their first solo exhibition in the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery.
Selected Artists:
Shortlisted:
Iain Andrews – 2007
Shoosmiths Art Prize
Selected NBA artists:
Shortlisted:
Teo Klein-Velderman – 2015
Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year
Selected NBA artists:
Shortlisted:
Hester Berry – 2014
The Threadneedle Prize
Selected Artists:
Shortlisted:
John Clark – 2015
Emiko Aida – 2015
Beau Rouse – 2014
Longlisted:
Emma Hartley – 2015
The Wakelin Award
This award aims to assist Welsh artists of merit whose work is not yet well represented in public collections and to add works by such artists to the permanent collection of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery.
Westward Ho! and Bideford Art Society Ken Doughty Prize
Selected NBA Artists:
Hester Berry – 2014
Winsor and Newton Painting Prize
Selected NBA artists:
Torie Wilkinson – finalist at the Windsor and Newton Young Painters Award – 2007
The Lynne Painter-Stainers Prize
The Northern Art Prize
The Northern Art Prize celebrates contemporary visual artists based in the North of England.
Selected NBA Artists:
Longlisted:
Iain Andrews – 2013
The Royal Academy of Art’s Annual Summer Exhibition
Is the world’s largest open submission contemporary art show.
Selected NBA Artists:
Coral Churchill – 2013, 2008
John Clark – 2013
Royal Scottish Academy, RSA Open Exhibition
Provides an extensive number of awards for young, emerging Scottish artists:
RSA New Contemporaries Award:
Natasha Russell – 2014
RSA Guthrie Award and Medal:
Julie-Ann Simpson – 2015
Visual Art Open VAO
The VAO Prize is an emerging artist awards with £5000 of prizes and an international art exhibition.
Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship
…funds British citizens to investigate inspiring practice in other countries, and return with innovative ideas for the benefit of people across the UK.
Selected NBA artists:
Laura Menzies – 2015
Zeitgeist Art Projects Open
The Zeitgeist Open Exhibition is a vibrant and critical showcase for new and established artists. It has become renowned for having a significant impact on artists’ careers by raising their art world profiles through press, sales and exhibition opportunities as well as creating new networks with collectors, curators and other artists. The Zeitgeist Open is one of the pioneers of making the selection process of the competition anonymous.
Selected NBA artists:
Enzo Marra – 2015
The Zsuzsi Roboz Prize by The Alfred Teddy Smith and Zsuzsi Roboz Art Trust