We've yet to find out who the artists are - although some are making themselves known on social media. It's allowed now - just so long as they nothing about the outcome of their heat!
PAOTY 2024: The Format
Artists enter with a self-portrait created within the last 5 years. They are selected on merit by our panel of expert judges. At the heats they are given four hours to paint a surprise celebrity sitter. The heat winners get to compete at the Semi-Final. Three of the Semi-Finalists go through to the Final but just one is the selected as the overall winner. PAOTY Website
I'm guessing the format will be the same as always - with:
- 72 artists were selected to participate in Series 11 of Portrait Artist of the Year (according to the rejection letter)
- all episodes were filmed at the Battersea Arts Centre
- there are eight heats followed by a semi-final and a final
- each heat has three sitters
- each heat has three artists
- each artist has four hours to draw or paint a portrait of each sitter.
- the three Judges (from the beginning) are Kate Bryan, Kathleen Soriano and Tai-Shan Schierenberg judge the competition, by assessing the artists’ progress and choosing who will advance to the semi-final and the final before selecting the overall winner who will the £10,000 Commission (see below for who they are painting this year)
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| Setting Up at Battersea for the Heats - in April 2024 |
Joan Bakewell dropped out of the programme after Series 9 - and had her portrait painted in Series 10. She's wasn't replaced and since there has been no hints or marketing I'm assuming the series will continue with Stephen Mangan as the presenter.
I personally think this is a pity as Joan was one of the best bits of the programme - especially in relation to highlighting when she thought the Judges were being silly.
PAOTY 2024: The Sitters
Overall, the sitters for the series as a whole are, as always, a range of some well known and rather less well known people who have some sort of public profile.
