Two Limerick artists shortlisted for AIB Portrait Prize

FROM hundreds of entries, the shortlists of this year’s AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize have been announced by the National Gallery of Ireland and two artists from Limerick have been shortlisted.

Gearóid Arthur Hayes is among the 26 artists selected for the AIB Portrait Prize with Kwena Chokoe, an oil on board. Roman Petrova’s Vivid Impressions, a coloured pencil work on paper, has been shortlisted for the AIB Young Portrait Prize alongside 19 other artists from across the country.

The AIB Portrait Prize shortlist includes painting, drawing, sculpture, video and photography demonstrating the breadth of contemporary Irish art. The winner of the AIB Portrait Prize will receive a cash prize of €15,000 and will be commissioned to create a work for the national portrait collection, for which they will be awarded a further €5,000. Two additional awards of €1,500 will be given to highly commended works. Judges for the AIB Portrait Prize are: artist, painter and writer Hughie O’Donoghue, Director of The Model, Sligo, Emer McGarry, and Director of the Museum of Literature Ireland, Simon O’Connor.

Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dr Caroline Campbell, commented: “We are proud to be working with AIB on the annual AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize. With the two Prizes, we showcase the work of Irish portrait artists of all ages and encourage an interest in contemporary portraiture across the island of Ireland. The artists shortlisted for the 2024 prize demonstrate an incredible breadth of Irish artistic talent. We are looking forward to the opening of the exhibitions on the 9^th of November and announcing this year’s winners on the 27^th November.”

READ MORE: Full Moon Rising festival to kick off in Kilmeedy

Chief Executive Officer of AIB, Colin Hunt, said: “We are delighted to share the shortlist for the 2024 AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize. The portraits selected demonstrate the wonderful creativity and expertise of Ireland’s portrait artists of all ages. We are proud to be associated with such a strong and diverse selection of portraits, and very proud to sponsor these inspiring competitions.”

The AIB Young Portrait Prize returns for its sixth year in 2024 as a showcase for the artistic talent of young people from across Ireland. Five winners (one from each respective age category and an overall winner) will be selected from a shortlist of hundreds of entries from young people aged three to eighteen. Winners will receive a bespoke art box and a cash prize. The overall competition winner will be awarded a personalised wooden box of high-quality art materials and a cash prize of €500. All twenty shortlisted entrants will have their artwork professionally framed. This year’s AIB Young Portrait Prize judges are: author-illustrator and motivational speaker, Ashwin Chacko, Emmalene Blake, a visual street artist, renowned for their large-scale portraits and Head of Research and Learning at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Sheena Barrett.

Exhibitions of the shortlisted works in both competitions run at the National Gallery of Ireland from November 9, 2024 until March 9, 2025. The winners of the prizes will be announced at a ceremony held in the National Gallery of Ireland on November 27, 2024.