Tuesday, November 09, 2021

Call for Entries: Derwent Art Prize 2022

The 6th Derwent Art Prize is a major INTERNATIONAL art competition for artists working in dry media - and is now open for entries. 

Deadline for entries is Tuesday 4 January 2022 (5pm GMT)

Below you can find out about this major art prize, the prizes on offer in 2022, the selectors and the exhibition and, most importantly how the call for Entries works

The Derwent Art Prize was conceived in 2012 and aims to reward excellence by showcasing the very best artworks created in pencil by artists from around the world.
The Derwent Art Prize is a global art competition with a prize pot of some £12,500. 
The exhibition was conceived in 2012 and has been consistently sponsored by Derwent, the internationally renowned fine art brand since that date. It is
  • A Biennial Open Exhibition
  • Open to artists from around the world; and 
  • Rewards excellence by showcasing the very best 2D & 3D artworks created in pencil or coloured pencil, pastels, graphite and charcoal.
Last time, this exhibition was held in 2020, there were:
  • 4,756 entries 
  • submitted by 1,884 artists 
  • from 72 different countries. 
  • The Derwent Art Prize judges selected a shortlist of 70 pieces.

The last Derwent Art Prize exhibition in a gallery - at the Mall Galleries in 2018


The Prizes


CONGRATULATIONS TO DERWENT for maintaining the prize fund in an era when many commercial / organisational sponsors have been turning their faces to the wall and leaving formerly prestigious art prizes to disappear.

I also like the fact that the main prize fund pot is equally split across 
  • all entrants and 
  • those aged 25 years and under.
Derwent Art Prizewinners with Selectors in 2016

Prizes valued at £12,500 will be awarded to entries selected for the exhibition at the Private View at the Exhibition at the Gallery@OXO, London.

A total prize fund of £12,500 will be awarded. Prizes are as follows:
  • Derwent Art Prize (£6,000)
    • First Prize £4,000 plus a year’s supply of Derwent products**
    • Second Prize £2,000
  • Young Artist Prize - for artists under 25 years (£6,000)
    • Young Artist First Prize (For artists under 25 years) £4,000 *
    • Young Artist Second Prize (For artists under 25 years) £2,000
  • People’s Choice Award £500
All the First and Second prize winners will also receive a special box of Derwent Lightfast Pencils which have a core which is resistant to prolonged colour change- meaning artwork hung in archival/museum conditions will not fade for up to 100 years.



The Selectors


This year’s entries will be judged by a panel of selectors comprising an artist, a critic and a curator. a fourth Judge is to be announced.

Writing and speaking about art history in an accessible and fun manner, my goal is to readdress the gender imbalance in the art world by reinserting women back into the canon of art history.
he has worked for more than twenty years in the art world in senior roles for the Contemporary Art Society, The Showroom, the Serpentine Gallery, and Royal Academy of Arts in London. He has been Director of Modern Art Oxford since 2013.
Her work is concerned with what she calls ‘memory stories’. She creates these stories primarily through research connected to the African Caribbean diaspora, and then maps the stories onto life sized figures. 

The Exhibition


From the open submission applications the panel will select approximately 80 works for exhibition.

At the bottom of the page you can find my previous reviews of this art competition, the prizewinners and the exhibitions - and see the diverse range of artwork which has been selected in the last eight years. 

The exhibition will be held at Gallery@OXO in central London will be from 24 February – 6 March 2022.
This is situated on the Riverside Walkway at the heart of one of the richest cultural areas of London, between the London Eye, The Hayward Gallery and Tate Modern.



How to enter the Derwent Art Prize


Who can enter

Entries are invited from international artists

What can you enter

Artists may only enter once, with a maximum of 6 images.

The competition is open to:
  • ORIGINAL artwork only
  • Artwork created using pencil 
    •  including water-soluble, pastel, graphite, charcoal or coloured pencils). 
    • Mixed media works are eligible but the main component must be pencil or one of the media previously listed.
  • work which does not exceed 182cms in its greatest dimension. There is no minimum size limit.
  • both 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional works.
  • Any component part of the pencil can also be used in the creation of artworks.
  • art works completed within the last 3 years.
  • artwork which must be available until 7 March 2022.
Inadmisable artwork is defined in point 8 of the Terms & Conditions.

How to enter

Information about the Derwent Art Prize: These are the links to:
The Derwent Art Prize has a

Online Entry

Artists can enter online. This is the link to the Online Entry Form
If artists are unable to enter online please contact derwent@parkerharris.co.ukfor further details.

The Submission

Artists are required to submit the following:
  • The completed online entry form
  • Images of up to 6 recent works, in digital format (jpg, max. 2MB file size)
  • A non-refundable application fee
If selected for the exhibition note that
  • The delivery of the work to and from the exhibition is the responsibility of the artists 
  • the artist shall be responsible for any import custom charges and duties.
  • Works not requiring framing or mounting must be suitably protected to avoid damage in transit and clear indication should be given as to how the work could be presented.
  • When delivering in person the work should be delivered unwrapped and with NO FIXINGS
  • The return of work after the exhibition is also the responsibility of the artists, including any custom charges and duties.

Entry fees

  • The entry fee is £15 for the first work and £5 for each additional work - which is very reasonable!
  • Artists under 25 years of age will pay £5 per work.
  • refunds will not be given, if you start your entry, pay your fee and 
    • decide not to upload any works or 
    • fail to complete your application before the deadline 

Why fees may be different for you

Note that the fee charged to international artists will 
  • ALWAYS depend on international currency exchange rates 
  • that prevail at the date and time of entry and 
  • may vary over time and 
  • may vary with the national currency of the country the artist lives in

The Exhibition / sale of artwork

  • Works selected for exhibition may be offered for sale. 
  • Revenue from the sale is subject to 40% commission plus VAT on the commission sum.

Timeline

Both submission and selection are both digital - meaning you should hear pretty quickly after the deadline for entries.

The artists selected for the final exhibition will be contacted by Parker Harris with full delivery details for their work.
  • Monday 4 January 2022 2020 (5pm GMT) - Deadline for entry
  • Monday 17 January 2022  - Artists notified of selectors' decision
  • 1-19th February 2022 - Delivery of work (to Art Moves of Chelsea)
  • 18th - 19th February 2022 - Delivery of work (in person to Art Moves of Chelsea, 10am-5pm GMT)
  • Wednesday 23rd February 2022 - Private View and announcement of winners
  • 24th February - 6th March 2022 - Exhibition opens to public at the Gallery@OXO in London
  • Sunday 6th March 2022 - Voting for the People's Choice Award closes


IMPORTANT NOTES FOR INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS (by me!)

PLEASE NOTE I accept no liability whatsoever for the complete accuracy or timeliness of advice - it's entirely up to you to check out what applies to your country at the present time

EU artists should remember this is the first Derwent Art Exhibition held after Brexit - hence all previous shipping arrangements are now DIFFERENT - and some countries are much worse than others in terms of making life complicated! Best advice - find somebody who has exported artwork to the UK and talk to them about what is involved.

It is not uncommon for artwork to be held up and impounded by Customs if it lacks ALL the correct paperwork. You MUST understand what is involved in sending your artwork from your country to the UK - and back again!

If you want to try and eliminate the payment of duty and taxes - you may want to consider NOT exhibiting for sale i.e. "for temporary exhibition only" - see 


Previous posts about the Derwent Art Prize



You can download and view previous catalogues for the Derwent Art Prize - 

BELOW are my blog posts covering the Derwent Art Prize in its first four outings (2020 was a bit different - see below).

You can see the sort of work that was submitted and got selected - on the gallery walls - in both the posts about the selected artists and those reviewing the exhibition.

5th Derwent Art Prize 2020

Obviously arrangements for exhibiting the artwork changed after March 2020 due to the constraints on art exhibitions. The following posts are from the Derwent Art Blog

4th Derwent Art Prize 2018



3rd Derwent Art Prize 2016



2nd Derwent Art Prize 2014



1st Derwent Art Prize 2013



About Derwent and the Cumberland Pencil Company


  • The Art Prize carries the "Derwent" brand name of the Cumberland Pencil Company who in turn are part of ACCO (formerly Rexel).
    • The Cumberland Pencil Company was created in 1916 
    • The first Derwent colour pencil was introduced in 1938.
    • In 2008, the Cumberland Pencil Company left the old pencil factory in Keswick and moved to its new Pencil Factory on a site at Lillyhall, Workington.
  • The Derwent Pencil Museum maintains a presence in Keswick, where pencils first started being made in 1832 - after graphite was found in Borrowdale in the 1500s.Derwent is very active in relation to other exhibitions besides this prize. It sponsors The Pastel Society, working closely with its members at events, exhibitions and commissioning artwork work with the UK Coloured Pencil Society, Society of Botanical Artists and Society for All Artists (SAA).
Posted by Making A Mark on Tuesday, November 09, 2021
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