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. This year, three artists from Clare have been shortlisted.
Amanda Dunsmore’s silent video portrait Lydia, Dr Lydia Foy, 2022 and Mick O’Dea’s Fergus Martin, an oil on canvas, have been named among the 26 artists shortlisted for the AIB portrait prize, while Julia Kardas’ Dawn in Molten Blue, a piece in acrylic and pastel on paper, has been shortlisted along with 19 other artists from across the country in the AIB Young Portrait Prize.
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: Hughie O’Donoghue, artist, painter and writer. Emer McGarry, Director of The Model, Sligo and Simon O’Connor, Director of the Museum of Literature Ireland.
The AIB Young Portrait Prize returns for its sixth year in 2024 as a showcase for the artistic talent of young people from across the island of 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/prepared. This year’s AIB Young Portrait Prize judges are: Ashwin Chacko, author-illustrator and motivational speaker, Emmalene Blake, a visual street artist, renowned for their large-scale portraits and Sheena Barrett, Head of Research and Learning at the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
Exhibitions of the shortlisted works in both competitions run at the National Gallery of Ireland from 9 November 2024 – 9 March 2025. The winners of the Prizes will be announced at a ceremony held in the National Gallery of Ireland on 27 November 2024.
The shortlisted Clare artists are:
AIB Portrait Prize 2024 at the National Gallery of Ireland are:
Amanda Dunsmore (Clare), Lydia, Dr Lydia Foy, 2022, filmed video portrait, silent, 18 mins
Mick O’Dea (Clare), Fergus Martin, oil on canvas
AIB Young Portrait Prize 2024 at the National Gallery of Ireland)
Julia Kardas, Age 18 (Clare), Dawn in Molten Blue, acrylic and pastel on paper
Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said, “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 9th of November and announcing this year’s winners on the 27th November.”
Colin Hunt, Chief Executive Officer of AIB, 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.”
Find out more at www.nationalgallery.ie