AIB Young Portrait Prize 2024 - Meet the judges!

We're delighted to reveal the three judges for this year's AIB Young Portrait Prize. A big welcome to Ashwin Chacko, Emmalene Blake and Sheena Barrett, who will have the difficult task of choosing not only the works to be shortlisted for this competition but also the overall winner and the winner in each age category! Read more about them below. 

About the AIB Young Portrait Prize:

Our annual inclusive art competition aims to foster and support creativity, originality and self-expression in children and young people. The AIB Young Portrait Prize accepts entries from young people, up to the age of 18, of all abilities, from across the island of Ireland.

20 finalists in four categories (ages 6 and under, ages 7–11, ages 12–15 and ages 16–18), chosen by our panel of judges, will be displayed in an exhibition in the Gallery from 9 November 2024 until 9 March 2025. 

The overall competition winner will be awarded a personalised wooden box of high-quality art materials, specific to their choice of material in their portrait, and a cash prize of €500 at an award ceremony on 27 November 2024.

Find out more and enter here (entries close on Friday 21 June 2024).

 

About the judges:

Ashwin Chacko

Ashwin Chacko is a positively playful award winning, author-illustrator and motivational speaker. He is on a mission to champion creativity to shape culture through talks, books, videos and workshops. Ashwin specialises in positive visual storytelling. He helps companies connect with their audience through illustrations & design. He is interested in uncovering the social interactions that drive culture. He seeks to capture these moments in bold lines and shapes, his compositions focus on a strong use of characters intermingled with typography and patterns.

Emmalene Blake

Emmalene Blake (ESTR) is a visual artist based in Dublin, renowned for their large-scale portraits. Emmalene's work spans outdoor murals, studio pieces, and teaching at Youthreach. They have painted live at numerous events and created murals throughout Ireland and internationally. Emmalene's art is deeply influenced by socio-political themes, reflecting their engagement with pressing issues such as feminism, human rights, environmental concerns, and inequality. Their work often incorporates elements of pop culture and humour, aiming to provoke thought and dialogue. Emmalene firmly believes in the power of public art to mirror society and to foster public discourse on cultural and societal issues.

Sheena Barrett

Sheena Barrett is Head of Research and Learning at IMMA, the Irish Museum of Modern Art. She joined IMMA in 2023 from Dublin City Council where she led the development of the LAB Gallery as a critical platform for emerging arts practice in Ireland. Having previously held roles at Breaking Ground Public Art Commissioning Programme, Temple Bar Gallery & Studios, the National Gallery of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland, she has extensive curatorial experience, supporting artists and audiences through ambitious public programmes and commissioning. 

 

An exhibition sponsored by AIB Insurance plc, organised by the National Gallery of Ireland.