This Is Art!, the All-Ireland art competition for young people under 18, has closed for entries.
The judges will now get to work and the winners will be announced on Saturday, 11 June as part of Cruinniú na nÓg 2022!
Last year there were nearly 10,000 entries for the first This Is Art! competition. We were blown away by all the creativity so, RTÉ and the Creative Ireland Programme decided to go again.
For the 2022 edition, artists aged 18 and under who live anywhere on the island of Ireland are asked to create and submit an original piece of visual with the theme 'This Is Extraordinary'.
Snap or Scan a digital version of the artwork and Upload it, together with a brief artist statement, to an online art gallery where it will be shown for for generations to come.
Check out rte.ie/thisisart for all the information and see the 2021 winners here!
Dee Forbes, Director General, RTÉ, says: "When we launched the first This is Art! Competition last year, the volume of entries was truly phenomenal. Even more phenomenal however was the quality of the work submitted. The level of creativity, engagement and inventiveness was remarkable, as was the technical skill and proficiency of entrants across all categories. For RTÉ, as the provider of Ireland’s only dedicated television and online services for children, This is Art! allows us to provide an important outlet for the young artists of the future."
Tania Banotti, Director, The Creative Ireland Programme, says: "The Creative Ireland programme wants to enable the creative potential of every young person in the country. We're excited to support RTÉ's This is Art!. Winners will be announced on 11th June for Cruinniú na nÓg – Ireland's national day of free creative fun for young people."
How it works
The competition is open to all young people of all abilities, aged 18 and under, residing on the island of Ireland and is inclusive of all visual art disciplines.
There are FIVE categories:
Age 7 and under
Age 8 – 11
Age 12 – 15
Age 16 - 18
Group category
To enter as an individual or a group is simple.
CREATE a piece of original visual art.
SNAP or Scan a digital version of it.
UPLOAD your entry, along with a short artist statement here - rte.ie/thisisart.
All eligible artwork will then be reviewed by an independent panel of judges and exhibited in our This Is Art! online gallery. Selected works will feature on billboards across the country and on social media.
The Theme
The theme of this year’s competition is 'This Is Extraordinary’.
The Prizes
A prize fund of more than €10,000 will be awarded across the different categories for further education and art related vouchers.
Grand Prix Award: One artist in each category will be chosen to receive the This Is Art! Grand Prix Award; a specially commissioned trophy handmade by visual artist Shane Keeling and presenter of the RTÉ series This Is Art Club!
Commendations: Selected works across all categories will receive Commendation Certificates along with prize vouchers for art materials and a professional review of their work;
Group Bursaries: Three Group Bursaries, valued at €2,000 per group, will be awarded through which professional artists will facilitate an art experience for your school or group;
Other: Prizes of bursaries towards art courses, vouchers for art materials and picture framing vouchers will also be awarded.
The key dates
Opening date for entries is Friday, 1 April 2022.
The closing date for entries is Friday, 13 May 2022.
Winners will be announced on Cruinniú na nÓg, 11 June 2022.
The judges
Annie Fletcher - Director of IMMA, Irish Museum of Modern Art
Tadhg Crowley – Senior Curator, The Glucksman
Aideen Barry – Visual Artist
Amanda Coogan – Visual Artist
Will Sliney – Illustrator
This Is Art 2021!
Almost 10,000 entries were received last year and are available to view in the online gallery rte.ie/thisisart.
The winning entries and selected artworks were also showcased on billboards all over Ireland in association with Local Authorities.
Find out more about on their official site here - Creative Ireland.
And don't forget to tune in to This Is Art Club! for all your artistic inspiration as you get ready to enter!
