All competitions · Prize / award
AIB Portrait Prize 2026 (formerly Zurich Portrait Prize)
National Gallery of Ireland · Dublin, Ireland
Ireland's national portrait competition at the National Gallery of Ireland, open to artists aged 19+ resident on the island of Ireland or Irish citizens abroad. One work in any medium; €15,000 first prize plus €5,000 commission.
Your eligibility
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Who can enter
- Location
- Ireland, United Kingdom (by residence or nationality)
- Age
- 19 and over
- Career stage
- Any
- Mediums
- Any medium
- Theme
- portrait
- Work made
- Within the last 3 years
- Submission
- Online submission
- Also
- Artists aged 19+ on 3 July 2026, resident on the island of Ireland (incl. Northern Ireland) or Irish citizens abroad; one artwork; work started after 3 July 2023.
About
The AIB Portrait Prize (previously the Zurich Portrait Prize and before that the Hennessy Portrait Prize) is the National Gallery of Ireland's annual competition celebrating contemporary portraiture by Irish artists from Ireland and abroad. Artists must be 19 or over on the closing date and resident on the island of Ireland or Irish citizens living abroad. Each artist may submit one work in any medium, started after 3 July 2023 and completed by the deadline.
For 2026, entries closed at 10pm on 3 July 2026 via online submission. The shortlisted works are exhibited in the Portrait Gallery of the National Gallery of Ireland from 14 November 2026 to 14 March 2027 (free admission), with the winner announced at a ceremony on 2 December 2026, then touring to Galway Arts Centre (3 April to 27 June 2027) and Limerick City Gallery of Art (9 July to 15 August 2027). The winner receives €15,000 plus a €5,000 commission for the National Portrait Collection. A companion AIB Young Portrait Prize runs for under-19s.