£35,000 BP Portrait Award 2019 - How to enter and how to improve your chances of being selected.
2019 will be the 40th year of the BP Portrait Award and the 30th year of its sponsorship by BP. It's grown in stature over time as the number of entries from around the world have increased. The entry for the BP Portrait Award 2019 will be no different.
This is my annual guide to the BP Portrait Award - it's somewhat encyclopedic (but I've been analysing this competition for well over a decade!)
PLUS
There's a £74,000 prize pot. If you win, you cash out of the competition as you won't be able to enter again. Ideally you get to win second or third prize before winning!
The artworks chosen for the publicity materials are usually not those shortlisted. Consequently a few lucky artists each year will get seriously major exposure for their artwork via the publicity materials.
Being selected can be as big as winning a prize. The big thing about this exhibition is to get selected for the exhibition.
Benjamin Sullivan RP NEAC, the 2017 Winner of the BP Portrait Award is crystal clear that participation is everything
It's one enormous shop window for those who want to accept commissions for painting portraits. It instantly raises your profile as somebody who has a serious claim to the title "portrait artist". However you need to have geared up for this in advance or else it's a wasted opportunity.
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This is my annual guide to the BP Portrait Award - it's somewhat encyclopedic (but I've been analysing this competition for well over a decade!)
PLUS
- great reasons for entering the BP Portrait Award 2019
- how to give yourself a better chance than most with your entry
- how to enter the competition - the deadline is 21 January 2019
Why you should enter the BP Portrait Award
1. You can change your life!
This is the sort of art competition / exhibition that changes people's careers and lives. Just getting selected can be enough to get taken seriously and after that it's up to you. If you are or aspire to be a serious portrait artist you need to think very seriously about entering the competition that in the past has been characterised as "the Oscars of Portraiture". |
| Winner of the BP Portrait Award 2018 Miriam Escofet with her mother and Miriam's portrait "An Angel at my Table" - this could be YOU in 2019! |
2. Awards
There's a £74,000 prize pot. If you win, you cash out of the competition as you won't be able to enter again. Ideally you get to win second or third prize before winning!- First Prize: A cash award of £35,000 with a commission valued at £7,000
- Second Prize: £12,000
- Third Prize: £10,000
- BP Young Artist Award: £9,000 (All entrants aged between 18 and 30 will automatically be considered for both the BP Young Artist Award and the BP Portrait Award, but an individual cannot win both.)
- BP Travel Award 2019: £8,000
3. International
This competition has serious international standing. It regularly attracts- over 2.5k entries annually from some 80+ countries all over the world
- about half the entries are from outside the UK
- it also regularly has prizewinners from all over the world!
4. Audience
A HUGE number of people come to see this exhibition.- You could be an exhibition lasting several weeks for a major art prize in a major national art gallery right in the centre of London.
- Every year, this is one of the top exhibitions in the UK, regularly attracting more than 200k visitors to the exhibition - BEFORE it tours to other parts of the UK.
5. Profile & Status
"Selected for the BP Portrait" is the sort of entry on your CV that galleries like to see! This is the competition that artists boast about being selected for - and galleries like to boast about your selection too!6. Exposure
Your portrait painting could hang outside the National Portrait Gallery on a banner - or be on all the posters around the Underground and London!The artworks chosen for the publicity materials are usually not those shortlisted. Consequently a few lucky artists each year will get seriously major exposure for their artwork via the publicity materials.
7. Marketing / Commissions
The point about the exhibition is to be in it - the prize is just a bonus
Being selected can be as big as winning a prize. The big thing about this exhibition is to get selected for the exhibition.
Benjamin Sullivan RP NEAC, the 2017 Winner of the BP Portrait Award is crystal clear that participation is everything
Ben emphasises in the video that the REALLY IMPORTANT important thing is to be included in the exhibition rather than win a prize. Winning a prize is a wonderful bonus but shouldn't be the aim. He says being in the exhibition over the years has given him lots of exposure and lots of commissions!
Interview with Benjamin Sullivan, Winner of the BP Portrait Award 2017 - plus his BP portraits 2006-2016
It's one enormous shop window for those who want to accept commissions for painting portraits. It instantly raises your profile as somebody who has a serious claim to the title "portrait artist". However you need to have geared up for this in advance or else it's a wasted opportunity.
8. Have a great reason for visiting London
Many international artists choose to come to the previews and can be around for the events at the beginning of the exhibition.9. Network and make lots of friends.
In 2014, David Kassan (Third Prizewinner 2014) suggested that the networking and friendships that painters make with fellow artists also exhibiting in the show are "unbeatable".10. Get Interviewed by me!
I try to interview the BP Portrait Award Winners every year - and you can see the interviews - and the tips that past winners have to offer on my BP Portrait Award Playlist on my MakingAMark Videos YouTuBe Channel (The one with Aleah Chapin in 2012 is now up to 142K views!)How to improve your chances of being selected for the exhibition
Why it's very unlikely you will be selected
The BP Portrait Award 2018 received 2,667 entries from 88 countries. Judged anonymously, 48 portraits were selected for the exhibition.The chances of getting selected are remote! Just 1.8% of the entries were selected for the exhibition last year. So you need to:
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