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!

• Website: https://www.therba.org/
• Call for Entries: https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/open-calls/royal-society-british-artists
• Deadline for Entries: Friday 9 January 2026 (that's TOMORROW)
• Exhibition: 26 February - 7 March 2026
• Venue: Mall Galleries

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

Call for Entries: Society of Women Artists 164th Annual Exhibition (2025)

This is about the call for entries for the Annual Open Exhibition 2025 of the Society of Women Artists (SWA).  

The SWA seeks works of the highest standard within its specific field. The SWA continues to promote female artists and prides itself on the very diverse nature of the work shown during our Annual Open Exhibition from both our non-members and our members.

Below you can find a summary of how to enter and relevant terms and conditions - although you do need to read the complete set of details.

All the images below are from the Annual Exhibition in 2024.

SWA Annual Exhibition: Call for Entries

The Society of Women Artists exhibits at the Mall Galleries on an annual basis (although not a member of the Federation of the British Artists).  This year the exhibition will be held there between 24th June to 28th June 2025 (5 days ONLY).

The DEADLINE for entries is 8th March 2025. If you enter, you can find out whether you have been successful if you visit the SWA website on or after the 29th March 2025.

In this post you can find:

• details of the exhibition
• who is eligible to enter
• what types of artwork are eligible
• how to enter 

but, first, why enter this exhibition?

Why enter the SWA Annual Exhibition?

East Gallery, SWA Annual Exhibition 2024

The Society of Women Artists have been on an important journey of improvement in recent years. It's one which can provide lessons for other art societies - in a variety of ways.

In general the artwork has improved over time and the number of younger artists now exhibiting with the Society has improved.

There's also a keen sense of the exhibition being a place where women artists can exhibit work on themes with meaning to women - which might get overlooked by panels where men make up the majority of the members.

Sarah Lake wins Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024

Winner of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024: Jara by Sarah Lake

This post is about the internationally renowned David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 Exhibition at the Mall Galleries, which opened to the public today - and continues daily at the Mall Galleries (10am - 5pm) until 6th July. It provides:

• announcement of 
• the artwork winning the top prize
• the runner up
• plus all the category and other award winners
• comments on the Exhibition
• my photos of the exhibition - plus links to more images of the artwork - including all the Category Winners
• comments on pricing and sales

On Monday night, I attended a very impressive Private View for the Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition where the awards for each category and finally the winner of the Wildlife Artist of the Year were announced.

You can also review the artworks in the exhibition online at the Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 Online Exhibition on the DSWF website.

Towards the end of the Private View last night,
when numbers had reduced enough to get a good view of the artwork in the gallery

Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024

Since its inception in 2008, DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year has attracted more than 17,500 entries and through entry fees, exhibition sales, and sponsorships, has raised nearly £2 million for wildlife causes.

The Wildife Artist of the Year 2024 is Sarah Lake.

Winner of Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 - Sarah Lake
Artwork: "Jara"
Papercut 77 x 80cm SOLD (£1,800)

Sarah Lake is a very impressive wildlife artist from Kent with a unique approach to creating her art. All her artworks are created by cutting paper with a surgical blade and layering to create the shapes and tonal values of an animal or bird. Her award winninf artwork is the picture of an elephant's trunk - with the end curled round. This is what it looks like close up.

Last night, she was won the Wildlife Artist of the Year Award and sold all her artwork in the show (two proper artworks and two postcards) and I think this prize has just raised the profile of her artwork and her career - and her medium of choice.

A macro view of the elephant's trunk created as a papercut artwork by Sarakh Lake

Last year she won the Wings Category with a picture of a pelican - and I commented at the time that I thought it was the best artwork in the show

Her work is based on photographs which she analyses to extract the different tonal values. She explains her practice on her website.

It's been her practice in the past to donate most of her art for auctions which raise funds for wildlife conservation.

Her £10,000 award is split between a £5,000 cash prize and a £5,000 donation to a conservation charity / project of her choice.

The Runner Up

The runner up was a sculpture called "Guardian of the Forest" by Aki Mimura

Wildlife Artist of the Tear: Runner Up

'Guardian of the Forest' (Abstract World) by Aki Mimura

Limestone on Sandstone base

25 × 14 × 18 cm 

This was entered in the abstract category because it's a very stylised version of a bird - which I think is an owl.

Aki Mimura is a Japanese sculptor who used to be a professional watch designer for 11 years and now lives in Italy and works in sculpture.

I continue with the winners of the various categories below

Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition 2024

DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year 2024 has attracted entries from exceptionally talented amateur and professional artists all over the world.

This year the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) is celebrating its 40th anniversary - and displayed a film last night which indicates the work it has been doing

The Judges for the Awards in 2024 were made up of

• conservationist: Melanie Shepherd, Chair of the DSWF Board of Trustees (and former CEO of the Foundation)
• artists: Hazel Soan and Gary Hodges, 
• artists: Mandy Shepherd and Emily Lamb (David Shepherd's grandaughters)
• wildlife photographer: William Fortescue
• gallery owner: Simon Trapnell (founder of Nature in Art)
• interior designers: Wendy Feess.
• PR and advertising experts: Karrie Goldberg (Founder of The Kagency and Outernet)

The Awards Ceremony was livestreamed on YouTube and can be seen in this video.  Apparently the set-up only took a couple of hours. I though it was a wonderful way of engaging with the international community who are all very enthusiastic about this competition - and send lots of entries!

You can also see my Facebook album of photos of 

• the winner AND all the category winners 
• lots of general views of the exhibition - and the rest of the artworks (in PV mode)!! 

Category Winners

The category winners are listed below. 

21st UKCPS Annual Open Exhibition 2022

The 21st Annual Open International Exhibition (2022) of the UK Coloured Pencil Society is now online. 

It's particularly interesting for me as I was one of the Judges this year in terms of reducing 250 images from coloured pencil artists from aropund the world to the 83 images in the exhibition which can now be viewed online. All we get as Judges was the digital image (online), the unframed dimensions and a spreadsheet to include our marked for each work. The other Judges were

• Richard Rees PPS - President of the Pastel Society
• Nuala Henry - UK Marketing Manager, Hahnemuehle

Alyssa Tidwell - Editor of International Artist magazine was the Judge making the awards

YOU too can be a Judge and VOTE for the image you think deserves the People's Choice Award. All you need to do is:

• click the images to see a larger version of each image
• complete the form on The People's Choice Award Page - and then click the submit button

The 21st UKCPS Annual Open Exhibition Award Winners

Links in the artists' names below go to their websites where you can see more of their art.

Best Picture in Show 

Best Picture in Show - Black Sea by Megan Seiter (Pic No. 241)

Megan Seiter is an American artist specializing in colored pencil still life drawings. Originally from Rhode Island, she received her BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art, and in 2009 moved to California. Megan has shown her work internationally, in galleries and juried exhibitions hosted by the International Guild of Realism, American Women Artists, the Colored Pencil Society of America, and the UK Colored Pencil Society, among others.

This for me was the standout drawing in the show in terms of its HUGE impact and technical proficiency. I remember looking at it very, very closely to check it wasn't a photograph!

Reserve Best in Show

Call for Entries: Society of Women Artists 160th Open Exhibition

This is about the call for entries for the 160th Annual Open Exhibition 2021 of the Society of Women Artists (SWA).

Call for entries for the SWA open annual exhibition online

 

Like a number of other societies, this annual exhibition will be a virtual / online exhibition this year.

The SWA normally exhibit at the Mall Galleries - but given the number of months the Galleries have been closed due to lockdown, the priority for exhibiting art societies in 2021 obviously goes to the Societies which are members of the Federation of British Artists whose home is at the Mall Galleries.

Plus a digital submission means that an artist can submit artwork for exhibition MINUS travelling, transport and the framing costs.

Online Exhibition dates are as follows

• Deadline for all Digital Entries: midnight on 25 June 2021 i.e. you have a month left to submit your entry (Note: I hate midnight timings - I never know whether they mean the beginning or end of the day. "Noon" is much clearer).
• Notification of Selection (ONLINE ONLY): 16th July 2021 
• Online Exhibition Opens: 21st September 2021.
• Exhibition Closes: Sunday 29th September 2021.

I didn't review last year's exhibition as this was also online - and I'm finding reviewing online art much more difficult than exhibitions in galleries. However, you can see the standard of work this exhibition attracts in my Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2019

In this post you can find:

• who is eligible to enter
• what types of artwork are eligible
• how to enter - with key dates
• details of the exhibition
• details of the prizes

but, first, why enter this exhibition? 

Why enter the SWA Annual Exhibition?

The Society of Women Artists have been on an important journey of improvement in recent years. It's one which provides lessons for other art societies.

As I've indicated in past reviews, the quality of the artwork in their exhibitions has improved enormously and there has been a greater involvement by professional women artists.  The change in the quality of the work also gave me the impression that selection had become much more rigorous and being a favoured member/friends was no longer enough to get your work selected.

I think the change has also been in part due to an injection of new and younger blood - with artists keen to "make their mark" and wanting the exhibition to be excellent - and are keen to use websites and social media to promote their art. In turn this is also reflected in a more contemporary "younger" feel to a lot of the artwork - which in turn draws a wider audience to the exhibition and helps improve sales! (It's a lesson which many other art societies might ponder on!)

There's also a keen sense of the exhibition being a place where women artists can exhibit work on themes with meaning to women - which might get overlooked by panels where men make up the majority of the members.

"Parting" by non-member Ayna Paisley
(from the 2020 online exhibition)
Acrylics, Paper Collage h: 70 w: 150 d: 4 (cms)
currently used for the Home Page of the SWA website

Two (financial) benefits are is that 

• submitting digitally to an online exhibition enables artists to submit works for consideration at a reduced cost - without the travelling, transport and the framing costs. 
• ENTRY FEES HAVE BEEN REDUCED for this online exhibition! 

Plus finally - there are PRIZES AND AWARDS! These are the 2021 awards.

• Princess Michael of Kent Award - A signed certificate
• President and Vice Presidents’ Award - A signed certificate
• The Tom Urwin Special Fine Art Award - £1500
• Karin Walker Young Artist Award - 2 x £500
• Derwent Special Fine Art Award
• Young Artist £500 (art materials) Awards
• Established Artist £500 (art materials) Awards
• The Artist Editor’s Choice Award, Feature in The Artist
• The Rosemary and Co Award £100 (brushes)
• Patsy Whiting Award £100
• Jackson’s Award £150 (art materials)

 

Call for Entries for the SWA's Annual Online Exhibition 2021

Find the full details of how to apply and the General terms and Conditions on this page

Below is a summary of that page - with some facts rearranged. 

 

Do not forget that the basic fact is that EVERYTHING is digital - communication, entries, images, and the exhibition. If you're not happy with digital then maybe this is not for you - or you need a friend who can help you.

Who can enter

• The exhibition is INTERNATIONAL i.e. open to artists in the UK, EU, and outside the EU 
  
• There is no stated restriction on who can enter. However, this is an exhibition of work by women artists!
• Women artists under the age of 35 are judged to be young artists and can submit work at a reduced fee.

What you can enter

What follows are the rules of what you can submit and what you need to know before you get on to the 'how to enter' section.

Categories of work which are acceptable:

• Paintings, pastels, drawings;
• Mixed media
• Sculpture, in all media;
• Original unique printing is acceptable e.g. engraving, lithography. Etchings must show their plate indentations. Commercially printed line work or photographically/digitally reproduced work printed with commercial machines (such as giclée work) is NOT admissible.
• Ceramics, glass and metal not of a utilitarian nature. 

This year, there is NO MAXIMUM submission size for paintings and sculpture. All works will be judged by merit. 

All artwork accepted and exhibited online by SWA MUST be 

• for sale, except by prior consent from the SWA. 
• EXCLUSIVE for the duration of the exhibition - which means that the commission is still payable even if it is listed and sold via another platform during the exhibition.

Artwork prices should include the commission of 45% for non members and 40% for members the SWA will be donating 5% of the sale price to the Charity Breast Cancer Now. 

Minimum Sale prices for works (excluding courier costs): 

• £150 for etchings or lithography or drawings
• £200 for 3D works
• £350 for everything else.

Please also note that all retail prices MUST include VAT if applicable and ALL artists liable to VAT are responsible for paying their own tax direct to HMRC. 

All costs of transport to a buyer will be payable by the buyer and accurate costs will need to be quoted to a buyer before a sale is concluded. So you need to know what the cost of packing and shipping is before you enter - or ASAP after you get selected.
[Note it does not say this in the Call for Entries - but this is how it needs to work if transactions are to be compliant with all relevant regulations for trade and ecommerce]

ARTISTS LIVING OUTSIDE THE UK PLEASE NOTE. 

• All artists without a UK residence are classified as Non-Established Taxable Persons (NETPs) and must register with HMRC (HM Revenue + Customs) for a UK VAT number before they can exhibit artworks in our Online Exhibition. 
• A valid UK VAT number is prefaced with the letters “GB”. VAT numbers relating to other countries are not valid for the purposes of this exhibition.
• You must provide the SWA with your UK VAT number before 1st September 2021. If you do not, your selected artwork(s) cannot be displayed online in the exhibition.
• see General Terms and Conditions for more details
  

How to enter

National Watercolour Society (1920 - 2020): Annual International Open Exhibition

The National Watercolor Society of America (NWS) is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

• 1920: founded as the California Water Color Society 
• 1967: renamed as the California National Watercolor Society; 
• 1975: renamed again as the National Watercolor Society.
• 2020: celebrates its 100th anniversary.

The National Watercolor Society is one of the oldest non-profit artist-led societies in the United States. Our mission - encouraging innovation in watermedia through education, outreach, and exhibitions - promote the advancement of watermedia and inspire the next generation of watermedia artists.

One of the things I find interesting is that the NWS had two websites

• one for the society and wider communication with its members and marketplace re its activities
• one specific to its online exhibitions which complement gallery exhibitions. 

Below I comment on 

• its exhibitions in its 100th year and
• the differences between watercolour painting in different countries
• the different ways watercolour painters engage with international exhibitions.

100th National Watercolor Society International Open Exhibition

Requirements include that.....

Painting must be primarily water-based media on any appropriate water media surface. Other media, if used, must be in conjunction with the water media, which must be dominant.

The 100th National WatercolorSociety International Open Exhibition has

• a Virtual Opening online on October 17, 2020 (see video below). 
• a dedicated online website with all the selected artwork - which has very large thumbnails and the scope to enlarge the image. 
• You can view with all images on view (see below)
• Or click on a painting to see more about who painted it, size and media
• All artwork is watermarked but the size of the images mean this is much less of a nuisance compared to websites which watermark small images.

The standard of the artwork is very good and I think distinctly different to the Members Show - which can be seen below this one.

National Watercolor Society - 100th International Open Exhibition
with a page on a website dedicated to online exhibitions

It also has 

• a list of accepted artists - 73 artists from seven different countries (USA, Australia, Canada, China, Italy, Malaysia, Peru, Scotland, Singapore and Taiwan - with the largest contingent by far being from China)
• a prospectus (pdf file)

The range of entries from other countries is pleasing to see - although I'm bemused as to why so few come from the UK.

However I have noticed that many UK watercolour painters seem to be quite slow to engage with international competitions. 

By way of contrast, those that do - such as Angus McEwen RWS - frequently get selected and often win prizes. This is his painting in the NWS exhibition

Members Annual Exhibition 2020

This video is about the 2020 Annual Exhibition by NWS Members - also online and held earlier in the year 

No BP Portrait Award in 2021 and 2022

An important announcement about the international art competition - the BP Portrait Award - from the National Portrait Gallery today - which will be of interest to portrait artists around the world.

We are writing to let you know that the National Portrait Gallery will not be staging the BP Portrait Award in 2021 and 2022 while the building in St Martin's Place is closed for our Inspiring People redevelopment.

We realise this will be disappointing to many, but having carefully considered all of the options, it is simply not possible for us to stage the competition in the way that both we and BP would wish while the Gallery is closed.

The BP Portrait Award 2020 exhibition will open at Aberdeen Art Gallery on 10 October and we are delighted that visitors will have the opportunity to view this year's exhibition in person.

We will continue to find new ways to work with artists and showcase the very best in contemporary portraiture through our digital channels during our closure. Please do continue to sign up for our emails and follow us on social media for the latest updates and information on how to get involved.

 

BP Portrait Award 2010: Visitors Choice Award
iDeath by Michal Ožibko
oil with acrylic background on canvas, 2200 x 1700 mm
photo copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I'm not surprised.

Back in June I predicted as follows......

Extract from National Portrait Gallery not reopening - until 2023

My guess is they will 

• launch a new version of the Portrait award as part of the celebration of the new Gallery re-opening in 2023
• BP will be "retired" as the patron/sponsor 
• recruit / entice another more appropriate sponsor will be found for the exhibition. Ideally one which 
• offends nobody in relation to environmental, cultural or ethical matters.
• complies with the currently non-existent policy on Sustainability!!! (i.e. the ability to exist constantly) as well as any other relevant policies such as the Equality and Diversity policy

Either that - or by then there will have had to be a radical and demonstrably evidenced commitment by BP to reducing carbon emissions.

If for no other reason that any car being driven in London which does not meet the Ultra Low Emissions Threshold for the newly expanded ULEZ Zone (basically inside the North and South Circular - as from October 2021) will be paying £12.50 a day in 2023 - and it's very likely that sustainability will be a MUCH more high profile issue!

The last 20 years of Portrait Award Exhibitions

Below are links to the microsites about the BP Portrait Award Exhibitions - which are INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT to find ( had to use my best detective skills!) on the NPG website. It would be easier to find most of them from my BP Portrait Award blog posts. 

What the BP Portrait Award now needs is a proper accessible and digital archive of every exhibition and every entry exhibited - with particular attention to the prizewinners. 

Plus a listing and digital images of all the artworks commissioned from all the winners of the First prize.

• BP Portrait Award 2020
• BP Portrait Award 2019
• BP Portrait Award 2018
• BP Portrait Award 2017
• BP Portrait Award 2016
• BP Portrait Award 2015 (Digital entries accepted for the first time)
• BP Portrait Award 2014
• BP Portrait Award 2013
• BP Portrait Award 2012
• BP Portrait Award 2011
• BP Portrait Award 2010
• BP Portrait Award 2009
• BP Portrait Award 2008
• BP Portrait Award 2007
• BP Portrait Award 2006
• BP Portrait Award 2005
• BP Portrait Award 2004
• BP Portrait Award 2003
• BP Portrait Award 2002
• BP Portrait Award 2001
• BP Portrait Award 2000

PS The image is of the Visitors Choice Award in 2010 - which has always been one of the most clicked / visited BP Portrait Award images on this blog!  Those who saw it will remember it was huge - that was the era of the "big heads"

Call for Entries - Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2020

This is my summary of the Call for Entries for the 2020 Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA)

• Entries opened today Monday 30th September 2019
• The deadline for entries is Friday 29 November, 12 noon
• For full terms and conditions, click here.

It covers

• the exhibition
• cash prizes and awards
• who can enter
• what you can enter
• how to enter

The Royal Society of British Artists seeks submissions of work displaying the highest standards of skill, expression and concept of draughtsmanship

RBA Annual Exhibition 2019 - Small works in the Main Gallery - prints, drawings and paintings

Exhibition in 2020

The Exhibition in 2020 has been brought forward from July to February 2020 and will held, as usual, at the Mall Galleries.

In effect it's reverted to its normal slot.

It's usually held across all three galleries due to its size (485 artworks exhibited in 2019 - including a special exhibition for the RBA Star Students from schools and colleges across the country)

• Opens on Thursday 20 February 2020
• Open to the public every day from 10am - 5pm (except the last day)
• Closes at 5pm on Saturday 29 February 2020.
• The Private View will be on Wednesday 19th July 2019, 11am – 8pm - with speeches at 6pm.

Prizes & Awards (subject to final confirmation)

This a link to the artworks which won prizes and awards at the Annual Exhibition in 2019.

A variety of Prizes and Awards are on offer. These include:

Cash Prizes

• The De Laszlo Foundation Medal for Excellence and £1,500 will be awarded for the best artwork from life by an artist aged 35 or under
• The Patron's Prize: £500
• The Surgeon's Prize: £500
• The Gordon Hulson Memorial Prize: £250 for draughtsmanship, variety & exploration
• The Stuart Southall Print Prize: £250
• The Nathan David Award for Sculpture: £150

Publication Awards

• The Artist Magazine Award: The winner will be interviewed in The Artist magazine, print and digital editions
• The Dry Red Press Award: The winning work will be published as a greeting card in the Dry Red Press 'Prize Winners' range, with royalties from the sale of the cards going to the artist

Art Materials & Other Awards

• The Winsor & Newton Painting Award: Art materials to the value of £500
• The Michael Harding Awards: Two awards of £500 worth of Michael Harding art materials
• Hahnemuhle Fine Art UK Award: A prize of artist paper, worth £250
• Frinton Frames Award: £200 of picture framing at Frinton Frames bespoke hand-finished picture frame makers

Education Awards

• The London Atelier of Representational Art (LARA) Prize for a Young Artist: Free short course in London

Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of British Artists 2019 -  some of the artworks in the North Gallery

While there is a some variation in quality between artworks - with some outstanding pieces - the overall standard of the exhibition is good to very good. The RBA continues to maintain its improvement in exhibition standards of recent years

Submitting an Entry

Artists are invited to submit entries via the open entry to this juried exhibition of work by members of the Royal Society of British Artists.

RECOMMENDED: This is an OPEN exhibition worth entering.

In the main exhibition, the split between members and open entries is respectable.

• 316 works (65%) are by Members of the RBA

• 169 artworks (35%) were selected from the Open Entry - out of c.1800 submissions - which is an increase from the 127 selected in 2017. Numbers are going in the right direction.

Which means around 9.3% of the artwork submitted via the Open Entry was selected for the Annual Exhibition. Review - Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2019

Who can submit

• Any artist over 18 may submit - including artists who do not live or work in the UK.

What can you submit?