RDS Visual Art Awards

Eligible Entrants

Eligible entrants were selected and invited to apply for the RDS Visual Art Awards by a team of independent professional curators appointed by the RDS to travel around the country and view final year BA & MA degree shows in the following selected art colleges:

1. ATU Galway
2. ATU Sligo
3. Belfast School of Art, Ulster University
4. Burren College of Art
5. Griffith College Dublin
6. IADT Dún Laoghaire
7. MTU Crawford School of Art
8. National College of Art & Design
9. SETU Waterford
10. SETU Wexford
11. TU Dublin School of Creative Arts (Grangegorman/ Sherkin Island courses)
12. TUS Limerick School of Art & Design

Each curator compiled a longlist of the best artists who were then invited to apply for the Awards. Works selected by college curators must read clearly as visual art. Invited artists were required to complete an online application form to compete for inclusion in a high-profile curated exhibition every autumn and the chance to win a share of the €40,000 prize fund. Entrants must be graduating from the final year of either a BA or MA visual arts course in the same year. 

Other/Overseas Applicant Eligibility

Final year BA and MA students whose college is not listed above, or whose final year show took place outside of the traditional window for degree show, are eligible to apply. Irish final year BA and MA students enrolled in overseas art colleges are also eligible to apply through this form. 

2025 BA and MA graduates, whose degree show took place between July 2025-April 2026, whose work was not already assessed for the 2025 RDS Visual Art Awards, are also eligible to apply.

Other/ Overseas Application Form

Conditions of Entry

The entry system is via an online form only. The link to the application form will be emailed to all eligible and longlisted artists. Entrants must complete the form fully and upload good high-resolution images of their work on which the judges will base their selection.  Entrants should also give a detailed description of the concept behind the body of work and techniques/materials used. A short artist’s statement and an outline of future plans are also required as are the space and technical requirements if selected for inclusion in the exhibition. Entries will not be accepted after the deadline date. Exhibiting artists must sign a letter of agreement with the RDS.

Judges

The judging panel of five members is made up of two nominees from the RDS (the Chair and Exhibition Curator), and one each from the National Gallery of Ireland, the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. The panel select artists for inclusion in the exhibition. They also award the cash prizes. The judges' decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered. Prize winners are announced at an Award Ceremony at the RDS in November, 2026.

RDS Visual Art Awards Exhibition

The work selected by the judging panel will be exhibited in the RDS Visual Art Awards Exhibition in the RDS from 5 November - 17 December 2026. As a condition of entry, all entrants commit to the availability of their work for the duration of the exhibition. Artists in the exhibition work with a professional curator to select the best work for and to assist with the installation of the show. Successful exhibitors must be available to attend a briefing meeting with the curator in the RDS on 6 October. A programme of talks/tours will run alongside the exhibition.

Artist Fee

A small fee will be paid to each exhibiting artist to cover transport, time and installation costs.

Image Use

Exhibiting artists must provide good quality photographic images of the work selected for exhibition for promotional purpose and for the exhibition catalogue. The copyright of the work remains with the artist whose permission will be sought for reproduction of the work in publications and publicity, including film or video, relating to the exhibition

Sale of Work

The RDS does not charge commission on any work sold during the exhibition. Work sold may not be removed by the buyer until the end of the exhibition. Payments will be processed by the RDS.

Insurance

All work will be insured against theft and damage while in the care of the RDS.

An independent panel of curators is engaged by the RDS to view the end of year degree shows (BA & MA) in selected colleges around the country. They longlist artists, who are then invited to apply for the Awards. A panel of five judges will then select artists from these applications for inclusion in the exhibition (shortlisting), which is curated by a high-profile Irish artist each year. The selected exhibitors will also have an opportunity to win a share of the €60,000 prize fund. College curators serve a maximum of three years on the panel. 

2026 RDS Visual Art Awards College Curators

• Teresa Crowley - Director, The Hunt Museum
• Noémie Cursoux - Recipient of the 2026 RDS College Curator Programme
• Rachael Gilbourne - Curator, IMMA
• Davey Moor - Curator, RHA 
• Aoife Ruane - Director, Highlanes
• Georgie Thompson - Curator, IMMA

The RDS Visual Art Awards judging panel is nominated by the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI), the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). The panel is chaired by an independent judge nominated by the RDS. Each year an expert panel of judges select artists from applications for inclusion in the high profile, curated exhibition to be shown in the autumn every year.

Judging Criteria:

• The quality of the work being put forward:
• The work clearly shows an understanding of and places itself within current contemporary art practice;
• The artist indicates an understanding of their materials and their modes of making;
• The work shows originality and potentially brings a new voice to their specific medium;
• The clarity of the application:
• The artist clearly articulates their practice, themes, and their influences;
• The application form is clear, understandable, and the images provided communicate the work effectively;
• There is a sense that the applicant has a future career as a professional visual artist.

2026 RDS Visual Art Awards Judging Panel Members

Paul McAree - Curator, Lismore Castle Arts (Curator)

Patrick T. Murphy - (Chair)

Christina Kennedy - IMMA Nominated Judge

Rachel Joynt - RHA Nominated Judge

Sarah McAuliffe - National Gallery of Ireland Nominated Judge

For further information please contact:
Email: arts@rds.ie

"The Taylor Price Award was an incredible surprise and opportunity. It enabled me to sustain my practice and finance my decision to further my education by completing an MA in creative Practice at Galway ATU. The financial support allowed me to be ambitious in the materials and scale of my new projects and afforded me the time and dedication I needed to give my practice while building a new body of work. I found myself gaining more confidence, as an emerging artist, in feeling that my practice was being appreciated and encouraged by an art world that can seem like a distant land, when one is working alone in a workshop, especially as a student. We very often doubt ourselves and the fact that the subjects that deeply preoccupy us can resonate outside, with others, and add our voice to the world." - Taïm Haimet, Taylor Art Award Winner 2024.

"Being part of the RDS Visual Art Awards has literally changed my life and progressed my career forward as an artist, beyond what I could ever have imagined." - Elaine Hoey, Visual Artist, RDS Taylor Art Award Winner 2016, R.C. Lewis-Crosby Award and Centre Culturel Irlandais Awards in 2017.