All competitions · Prize / award
AIB Young Portrait Prize 2026
National Gallery of Ireland · Dublin, Ireland
Free portrait competition for young people aged 0-18 living in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, in four age categories. One work made in the past 12 months; shortlist exhibited at the National Gallery of Ireland.
Your eligibility
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Who can enter
- Location
- Ireland, United Kingdom (by country of residence)
- Local area
- Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland
- Age
- 18 and under
- Career stage
- Student
- Mediums
- Any medium
- Theme
- portrait
- Status
- Amateur artists only
- Work made
- Within the last 1 years
- Entries
- Up to 1 work per artist
- AI
- No AI-generated work
- Size limits
- Must be displayable in the Gallery; maximum weight 40kg
- Submission
- Online submission
- Also
- Ages 0-18 on 3 July 2026, normally living in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland; one work per year; portrait of a known living sitter or self-portrait.
About
The AIB Young Portrait Prize is the National Gallery of Ireland's annual portrait competition for children and young people aged 18 and under who normally live in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland. Entrants submit one original portrait, in any medium that can be displayed (max 40kg, non-perishable materials, no AI), of a living person they know or a self-portrait, made within the previous 12 months. There are four categories: aged 6 and under, 7-11, 12-15 and 16-18.
For 2026, entries closed at 10pm on 3 July 2026 via an online form with a digital image; no fee is mentioned. Shortlisted entrants were notified in early August and delivered work on 20-21 August 2026. The twenty shortlisted works are professionally framed and exhibited in the Gallery's Portrait Gallery from 14 November 2026 to 14 March 2027 alongside the AIB Portrait Prize, then tour to Galway Arts Centre and Limerick City Gallery of Art in 2027. Winners are announced at a ceremony in November 2026.