2025 may feel far away, but in the world of art competitions, planning is already well underway with themes, submission details and deadlines already decided. So make sure you have plenty of time for the paint to dry on your best artwork to enter our pick of the first 2025 art competitions.
Competitions include the chance to exhibit in some of the most respected galleries and shows in the world. There are often cash prizes, art goodies and supplies on offer as well as the opportunity to appear in publications – from magazines and digital galleries to catalogs and books.
Most competitions have an entry fee as standard – expect to pay up to $30 per work.
Communication Arts Illustration Prize
This is one of the most prestigious competitions for creativity in illustration. It’s open to any illustration first published or produced from January 2024 through to the closing date.
Each winner receive a personalized Award of Excellence, milled from solid aluminium, and award certificates to show off to potential clients.
The Communication Arts Award of Excellence is one of the most-coveted awards in the industry. If chosen, winning places you in the highest ranks of your profession.
Deadline: January 10, 2025
DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year
This ever-popular annual competition promotes wildlife art at its very best and raises money the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
And it doesn’t do too badly for the artists either – prizes on offer includes a £5,000 cash prize to the artist and a £5,000 conservation voucher to be donated in the winner’s name to a DSWF species of their choice.
As always, the competition is open to both amateur and professional artists. The competition excludes photography, film and digitally created images.
Entries open January 6, 2005
London Art Biennale
Artists from around the globe are invited to apply for this prestigious event, which will take place from the July 16-20, 2025.
Up to 400 artists will have their work featured in both a printed and online catalog, with a dedicated page in a hardback publication by the International Confederation of Art Critics. And there’s a £5,000 London Art Biennale Award.
Artists can submit works across various mediums, including painting, sculpture, digital art, photography, video art and more.
Submission Deadline is February 28, 2025
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Prize fund: £50,000
This is the largest open-submission art exhibition in the world with 16,500 total entries.
Prizes included for sculpture, print, painting and drawing, as well as prizes for women artists and students. The purpose of the competition is to get a chance to exhibit at London’s Mall Galleries. Submissions open in February so get your entry in early, the closing date depends on the number of entries and often closes early once it reaches 15,000 or so.
Have a look at the 2024 exhibition and get an idea of the standard and range of work submitted.
The Spirit of Malvern En Plein Air Painting Competition
This is a brilliant real-time art competition for outdoor painters who find themselves in the north of England in the spring. Pit yourself against the untamed wilds of Derbyshire and the tumultuous English spring weather. Simply buy a ticket and find the perfect spot. The works of art are displayed in a ‘pop-up’ public exhibition with judging awarding £1000 first prize (plus further cash prizes for locals and in landscape urban and wildlife categories).
The competition takes place on the UK May bank holiday, and tickets can be purchased online.
The Homiens Art Prize
The New York-based Homiens Art Prize boasts free entry from artists worldwide working across art forms. Six winning artists will be invited to exhibit with Homiens, receive a cash award of $500, and be published in our exhibition catalog, and more. A further 12 finalists per round will exhibit with Homiens and be published in an exhibition catalog.
The current competition closes on 31 October, 2024 with the 2025 competition to be announced in the Spring.
TALP 2025
The Artist and Leisure Painter Open Art Competition (better known as TALP) has been offering artists of all abilities the chance to earn recognition and prizes for their artwork for almost 30 years.
In 2025 artists can submit two-dimensional works in any media in one of two categories: -amateur painters in the Leisure Painter category, and from more experienced and professional artists in The Artist category.
Up to 70 works are selected by judges in each category for exhibition at Patchings Art Centre, opening on the first day of the Patchings Festival in Nottinghamshire, England.
The total 140 exhibited works, along with those highly-commended by the judges, will also be featured on the Painters Online gallery and are eligible for the public vote for the People’s Choice Awards.
The 2025 competition opens in the spring.
Teravarna Annual Art Competitions
The self-styled The World’s Leading Contemporary Fine Art Gallery gave more than $160,000 to artists in prizes in 2023. And if you want a share in 2025, there are plenty of opportunities.
TERAVARNA’s mission is to encourage high-quality art and provide creative people with a place to show off their work. Art competitions traverse mediums from traditional painting and sculpture, painting to photography and digital artwork. Alongside cash prizes there are opportunities to exhibit and garner those all-important connections in the art world.
Artists around the world can enter competitions for all genres of paintings with subjects as diverse as water and color.
Feeling inspired? Read on!
Check out our comprehensive list of annual art competitions
Handy with a paintbrush? Check out the best international painting competitions
