Artists from Kildare invited to enter AIB Portrait Prize competitions for 2024

The National Gallery of Ireland today announced that the new sponsor for its Portrait Prize and Young Portrait Prize competitions and exhibitions is AIB. The AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize competitions are now open for entries from people of all ages. The AIB Portrait Prize showcases contemporary portraiture and invites submissions from artists working in all media across the island of Ireland, and from Irish artists living abroad. The AIB Young Portrait Prize is open to young people aged 18 and under. 

In the AIB Portrait Prize, the winning artist receives a prize of €15,000 and a commission worth €5,000 to produce a new work for inclusion in the national portrait collection. Two additional prizes of €1,500 are awarded to highly commended works. Hundreds of artworks by artists of all disciplines are considered by an expert judging panel, to be announced in the coming months. The competition plays a vital role in celebrating a range of different practices and interpretations of portraiture. 

The AIB Young Portrait Prize – which aims to foster and support creativity, originality and self-expression in children and young people – has four age categories. Winners in each age category and an overall winner are chosen from a shortlist of 20 works. Winners receive a bespoke art box and a cash prize. 

Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said, “These competitions and exhibitions are a highlight of the National Gallery of Ireland’s annual calendar. To welcome AIB as sponsor for both of these important elements of our programme is a significant moment for us all. AIB is committed to supporting sustainable communities, and this is very much reflected in its sponsorship of these prizes which welcomes entries from all corners of Ireland, and beyond, each year. Contemporary portraiture across Ireland is an inspiring area of art practice – by artists of all ages! – and we look forward to seeing this year’s entries for both the AIB Portrait Prize and the AIB Young Portrait Prize.”

Colin Hunt, CEO of AIB, said “AIB has, over many decades, offered significant support to the development of the arts in Ireland as part of its contribution to Irish society and the communities we serve. The AIB Art Collection is one of the finest single private collections of over 3,000 pieces of modern Irish works that capture a unique sense of time, place and human emotion and reflect the changing nature of Ireland’s cultural heritage. To continue that support, AIB is pleased to sponsor these special competitions which reflect contemporary Ireland in all its diversity today. We look forward to supporting artists of all ages and celebrating the wealth of talent flourishing among communities across the country.”

The closing date for entries for both the AIB Portrait Prize and the AIB Young Portrait Prize is Friday 21 June 2024. The exhibitions will run in the National Gallery of Ireland’s Portrait Gallery from November 9, 2024 to March 9, 2025.

The highly commended artists, category winners and overall winners of the AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize will be announced in November 2024, after the exhibitions have opened to the public at the Gallery.

Find out more at www.nationalgallery.ie.