Thursday, January 08, 2026

OPEN EXHIBITIONS 2026 REMINDER #1: (Mall Galleries Jan - June 2026)

This is my 2026 List of summaries of ALL the current Calls for Entries for Open Exhibitions by the National Art Societies in the UK and Ireland published to date.

#1 TODAY: I'm publishing the first half of the list - about the national art societies based at the Mall Galleries who have exhibitions in the period January - June 2025.
#2 TOMORROW: I'll publish the second half of my list - of other FBA and national art societies and major art competitions.

# SUNDAY: I'll summarise the key things OPEN ARTISTS need to know regarding 
  • why open artists can sell well if selected for open exhibitions
  • what they need to know to do so

Calls for Entries by FBA Societies


TIP: Being exhibited in an important national exhibition is an excellent way of marketing yourself and your art.

I've seen a lot of amateur artists develop into professional artists and become officers - and even Presidents - of leading national art societies in the 20 years that I've been writing this blog.
 
Below are SUMMARIES of various Calls for Entries by Annual Exhibitions by the national art societies which are members of the Federation of British Artists.
  • They are all holding exhibitions in the period January - June 2026
  • Their exhibitions are all held at the Mall Galleries
  • This is the page where you can find all the Open Calls for Entries
(Note: Tomorrow's post highlights the other FBA Art Societies and other national art societies. Not all who hold exhibitions at the Mall Galleries are members of the FBA.)

My summaries are NEVER ever a substitute for you taking your time to read ALL the Terms and Conditions of Entries very carefully. I've provided links to where you can read these below. REMEMBER!
  • You can get selected and then not hung if you mess up.
  • I recommend you remember to pay particular attention to framing / presentation for exhibition
    • delivering artwork; and
    • VAT before entering or pricing. (see note at end)

Royal Society of British Artists


Note - this one closes tomorrow at NOON!

You can read my blog post Open Call for Entries: Royal Society of British Artists - Annual Exhibition 2026


  • Who can enter: Any artist aged 18 or over may enter, from anywhere in the world.
  • What can you enter: Painting, sculpture, drawing and original prints.
    • nothing larger than 2.4m (longest dimension)
    • all work must be for sale
    • NOT previously exhibited in London
    • original creation of the artist
  • Pricing: minimum price of £300
  • Prints only – framed £180, unframed £120
  • 45% commission + VAT charged on all sales
  • Entry Fee: 
    • non-refundable submission fee of £20 per work
    • £14 per work for any artists aged 35 or under
  • Reasons to enter:
    • lots of prizes - many of which are awarded to open artists
    • RBA has a VERY strong commitment to favouring the development of young artists

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours | 214th Exhibition 2026

Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours
 Open Call for Entries - Annual Exhibition 2026
The RI continues to see the importance of an open exhibition where work by members and non-members can be shown together. We are especially proud to have almost a 50/50 split between them and are sure that this provides opportunity to artists, both emerging and established, as well as quality and variety to our visitors. Chris Myers - President
  • Website: https://royalinstituteofpaintersinwatercolours.org/
  • Call for Entries: https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/open-calls/royal-institute-painters-water-colours
  • Deadline for Entries: 2pm on Friday 23 January 2026
  • Exhibition: 25 March - 11 April 2026 (Closed on Easter Sunday 5 April and Easter Monday 6 April)
  • Venue: Mall Galleries
  • Who can enter: Any artist aged 18 or over may enter, from anywhere in the world.
  • What can you enter:
    • Acceptable media; Watercolour or water-soluble mediums including watercolour, acrylic, ink or gouache (excluding water-soluble oils) on any appropriate support (define).
    • all work must be for sale
    • artwork completed within the last two years
    • NOT previously exhibited in London
    • original creation of the artist
If selected works arrive damaged, with unacceptable framing, size discrepancies from the original submission, not as shown online, or in the opinion of the Selection Committee as not being in the spirit of watercolour painting, then these will be withdrawn. All withdrawn artworks will need to be collected from Mall Galleries by the artist at their expense.
  • Pricing: minimum price of £350
    • 45% commission + VAT charged on all sales
  • Entry Fee: 
    • non-refundable submission fee of £20 per work
    • £14 per work for any artists aged 35 or under

Reasons to enter:

The exhibition is the largest of its kind, featuring over 400 of the finest works from around the world.
  • displays a wide diversity in approaches to paintings using watercolour media and subject matter - from traditional to the more contemporary.
  • relatively little of what I tend to term the "can't draw, can't paint, won't sell" school of painting which lacks application to both concept and craft
This is worth a study - in terms of what subjects get painted in what media
(from my review of the 2025 exhibition - see link above)

This is one of my observations about last year's show
The overall impression is that
  • most of the artists in the show, on the whole, are very much more inclined to paint natural scenes associated with the outdoors - and have a distinct preference for more traditional media.
  • More contemporary artwork has a low profile in the show and tends to favour acrylic and mixed media.

 

Royal Society of Portrait Painters | Annual Exhibition 2026

Overall, this is an exhibition which displays one genre - portraiture - of a very high standard - with a wide diversity of subjects, styles, sizes and media.
View of part of the 2025 Exhibition
  • Website: https://therp.co.uk/
  • Call for Entries: https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/open-calls/royal-society-portrait-painters
  • see my blog posts 
  • Deadline for Entries: Tuesday 3 February 2026, 12 noon
  • Exhibition: 7-16 May 2026
  • Venue: Mall Galleries
  • Who can enter: Any artist aged 18 or over may enter, from anywhere in the world.
  • What can you enter:
    • paintings, drawings and original prints - including digital/iPad prints - the primary source should be from life.
    • Sculpture and photography are NOT admissible.
    • completed in last 3 years
    • NOT previously exhibited in London
    • original creation of the artist
    • IMO Judges are are looking for solid skills in portraiture - but they are not averse to new styles and innovation demonstrated by emerging talent.
  • Pricing: works may be listed as "not for sale"
    • minimum price of £300
    • Prints only – framed prints: £180, unframed prints £120 (latter to include cost of postage)
  • 45% commission + VAT charged on all sales
  • Entry Fee: non-refundable submission fee of £20 per work
  • £14 per work for any artists aged 35 or under
  • Reasons to enter: This "call for entries" gives all aspiring portrait painters:
    • expert assessment of your portrait
    • an opportunity to be hung in the same exhibition as some of the leading portrait painters in the UK
    • a very prestigious exhibition within the international portrait world
    • access to an extremely well used commission service for portraits
    • The total prize fund is £35,000, including The William Lock Portrait Prize (£20,000).
    • access to a much longer term payoff than an outing on television and not winning the top prize!
RSPP 2026 Open Call Prizes

Last year
  • 217 artworks were hung - by both RP members and open artists
  • of these 115 drawings or paintings were by open artists 
  • i.e. 53% of the artwork in the exhibition were by artists who were NOT RP members
    • some had been invited by RP members to exhibit
    • some were open artists
I recommend you READ my review of the Royal Society of Portrait Artists Annual Exhibition 2025 which includes links to where you can see my photos of artwork in the exhibition
one of the best hung exhibition by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters that I've seen in recent years. It looks great and has got a really nice flow to it


New English Art Club | Annual Exhibition 2026

New English Art Club
Open Call for Entries - Annual Exhibition 2026

  • Website: https://www.newenglishartclub.co.uk/
  • Call for Entries: https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/open-calls/new-english-art-club
  • Deadline for Entries: Friday 20 March 2026 - 12 noon
  • Exhibition: 11 - 20 June 2026
  • Venue: Mall Galleries
  • Who can enter: Any artist over 18 may submit, in the UK, EU, and outside the EU
  • What can you enter:
    • Paintings, drawings, and original framed prints (NOT photography or sculpture)
    • all work must be for sale
    • all work must have been completed in last 2 years
    • NOT previously exhibited in London
    • original creation of the artist
I saw a lot of younger artists receiving awards - which is good and augurs well for the future Review: NEAC Annual Exhibition 2024
  • Pricing:
    • minimum price of £300
    • Prints only – framed £180, unframed £120 (latter to include cost of postage)
  • 45% commission + VAT charged on all sales
  • Entry Fee: non-refundable submission fee of £22 per work
  • £14.50 per work for any artists aged 35 or under
Reasons to enter:
Lots of artworks were VERY colourful - which is so much better than dull and drab.
HOWEVER those colours include lots of red and orange - which can be major league "thugs" if there's too much in one painting or in paintings adjacent to one another. Particularly when groups of paintings by the same artist are hung together.


VAT for International Artists

Note that all artists who are not resident in the UK but are resident in the EU or elsewhere have a responsibility to register and account for UK VAT with H.M. Revenue & Customs. Otherwise your work may get stuck in Customs.

(see VAT ​re. "Cross-border supplies and sales of Art and Distance Selling of Art" near the bottom of my page about VAT for Artists  on my Art Business Info for Artists website)

Posted by Making A Mark on Thursday, January 08, 2026
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