MAKING A MARK: Another Portrait Competition

Thursday, January 02, 2025

Another Portrait Competition - for Self Portraits

The biennial Self Portrait Prize - sponsored by The Ruth Borchard Collection - opened its Call for Entries yesterday.

The deadline for entries is 2nd May 2025.

From the artworks submitted the 2025 prize judges will select

a winner of the £10,000 Ruth Borchard Prize and
a number of distinguished entries will be acquired for the "Next Generation Collection".

Below you can find:

a synopsis of what I think about the exhibition
a summary of what you need to know to enter.

You don't have to be a portrait artist to enter. Just an artist capable of producing an interesting self portrait.

The Self Portrait Prize: What I think

The aim of this biennial art competition is to promote and celebrate the art of the self portrait.

So far as I am aware, this is the ONLY self-portrait competition which has been going for a while. Other self portrait competitions pop up from time to time, but none last.

This one offers the following features which I think makes it very credible:

The biennial Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize was launched in 2011. The website contains links to the past competitions. The winners to date are:

It offers a prize of £10,000 - which, for me, is the threshold value for taking an art competition seriously. Notwithstanding all those who do seem to have forgotten that we've had a fair bit of inflation of late (as in the Portrait Artist of the Year Award of a £10,000 Commission should now be offering nearer £15,000 given the number of years it's been offered)!
It is sponsored by The Ruth Borchard Collection. Ruth Borchard (1910-2000) was a German writer who decided, at the end of the 1950s, to start a collection of self-portraits by artists. She had a budget (£21 guineas) and collected 100 by 1971. READ MORE about she went in search of artists on the website.
The panel of judges for each competition include those with serious credibility in this field - as well as some who might be thought of coming "from left field"
The exhibition is generally held in a reputable art gallery - and this year it will be the Southampton Art Gallery.

That and the fact that I enjoyed visiting the exhibition when it was held in London. What I particularly liked about it was the criteria are very open and the artists take advantage of this - and consequently there is

more diversity in approaches to the self portrait
a huge range in the nature of the self portraits selected for exhibition - from size to the wide variety of media employed in artwork on view

It's very much for those who like to be innovative and dare to be different - as the first prize (see above) in the 2023 competition exemplified. Or as one commentator put it - it includes artists who like pushing the boundaries!

You can see examples of artwork in the 2015 and 2019 below - and see more on the website.

View of the 2015 Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize 2015 Exhibition at Piano Nobile

This is a video about the 2021 Self Portrait Exhibition

The Self Portrait Prize: What you need to know to enter

The Self Portrait Prize invites artists to submit original and innovative self-portraits that explore personal identity, expression, and the human experience. Open to all forms of visual art, including painting, photography, sculpture, and digital media, the competition encourages diverse interpretations of the self.

This is the winner in 2023; the context gives you some idea of size and nature

You can find all the details about this competition on this link.

Specifically, you MUST READ the Overview of Eligibility and Terms and Conditions

Eligible artists

This competition is VERY open

You can be an artist of any background - amateur or professional
This might be your first self-portrait - and that's fine
There is no age restriction. However, if you are under the age of 16 then you parents must consent to you entering and this must be submitted to the competition BEFORE your application is submitted

some of the self portraits in the 2019 competition
(Melissa Scott-Miller is top left)

The Artwork for the Competition

The artwork must be a self-portrait. All variations of work – figurative or abstract, alone or in a group, from life or from memory – will be accepted.

Plus:

it must have been created in the year of or after 2015.
There are no restrictions of size of work.
A wide variety of media are eligible

including but not restricted to; painting, drawing, digital art, photography, sculpture, tapestry and ceramics.

Multi-part works, i.e. works in the form of a diptych or triptych etc., are eligible and will be regarded as one work.

However, note that oversized or heavy works may not be able to be displayed in the exhibition. They will still be considered equally for the prize and shortlist.

more self portraits from the 2019 competition

How to Enter The Self Portrait Prize

All works must be submitted online via the Self Portrait Prize Zealous portal. Access to the portal can be found at: https://ruthborchard.org.uk/self-portrait-prize/

When entering the prize online there are three main steps to the process

the artwork submission,
the application form and
the processing of the application.

The Artwork submission

you must upload a high quality image of the whole artwork (or video)
you are provided with advice as to what is required
you can also upload a supporting artwork typical of your artwork

About the Artist

You need to tell the Judges about yourself on the application form and the
This includes:

anything you want to say about your artwork and why you are applying
provide contextual info eg how old you are; your CV; whether you have gallery representation
your contact details.

How to submit your entry

The application is online
you can submit more than once but only one self portrait per entry will be considered
you must pay a submission fee for your application to be processed

£40 from a UK bank account
£50 from a non-UK bank account

Longlisted entrants

Artists whose work is longlisted will be offered the opportunity to participate in an online selling exhibition. The exhibition will be shared and promoted via

the Ruth Borchard Virtual Gallery,
Ruth Borchard Artsy and
Ruth Borchard website

Shortlisted entrants

Those artists who are subsequently shortlisted will be asked to present their artwork for the Judges to consider

All shortlisted works will be presented, in person, to the judges to be considered for the £10,000 Ruth Borchard Prize and acquisition by the Collection. All artworks must be delivered presentation and exhibition ready. Any artwork delivered in an unpresentable condition will risk not being seen. In the case of oversize works, if necessary, the gallery will contact the artist to make alternative arrangements.

The Winner(s) will be notified prior to the news being made public.

Piano Nobile and the Ruth Borchard Collection reserve the right to purchase as few or as many works in the exhibition in the exhibition for the Next Generation Collection.

Judges

The Judges for the 2025 competition include

Alan Carr, television presenter and comedian
Dr. Sarah Turner, Director of the Paul Mellon Centre
Simon Vincent CBE, British art collector, businessman and hospitality executive, best known for his leadership at Hilton Europe, Middle East & Africa
Sir Peter Bazalgette, cultural leader, author and former chairman of Arts Council England
Colin Davidson, previous prize winner and internationally renowned artist
A member of the Borchard family

REFERENCE

Below are some relevant past posts about this competition

Ruth Borchard Portrait Prize and Exhibition 2023
Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize 2023: Last Call for Entries
Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize 2017 - Call for Entries
Plus back in 2013, Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco (Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco - News) highlighted this portrait competition which at the time was new to me. See Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Competition 2013 - which records the fact that 700 entries produced 122 portraits exhibited in the show in London.

MAKING A MARK

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