Press release 19/06/2018
Last Chance to Enter Zurich Portrait Prize 2018
Friday 22 June is the last chance for artists to enter the 2018 Zurich Portrait Prize at the National Gallery of Ireland. The competition invites applications from artists living in Ireland, and from Irish artists based abroad. The Zurich Portrait Prize is open to artists working in all media. All details can be found on the Gallery's website.
Shortlisted artists’ works will be exhibited in the Gallery from 6 October 2018 to 13 January 2019 (free admission). The winner of the Zurich Portrait Prize 2018 will receive a cash prize of €15,000 and a commission, worth €5,000, to create a work for inclusion in the National Portrait Collection. There will also be two awards of €1,500 for highly commended works.
Judges for this year’s competition are Geraldine O'Neill, Sue Rainsford and Tanya Kiang. Geraldine O’Neill lives and works in her native Dublin and has exhibited extensively in Ireland and abroad including at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the National Portrait Gallery, London. Sue Rainsford is a writer and researcher based in Dublin and is the recipient of the Arts Council Literature Bursary Award and the VAI/DCC Critical Writing Award. Tanya Kiang has over 25 years of experience in the visual arts in Ireland. She was Editor of the Irish visual art magazine Circa from 1991-98 and has been the Director of the Gallery of Photography since 1998.
Previous Portrait Prize winners are Jack Hickey, Vera Klute, Gerry Davis and Nick Miller.
Zurich Portrait Prize
6 October 2018–13 January 2019
Room 23. Admission Free
Curator: Dr Brendan Rooney, Head Curator, National Gallery of Ireland
About Zurich
Ireland is the location of choice for Zurich Insurance plc (ZIP) which is Zurich's pan-European business company. ZIP has been headquartered in Dublin since the beginning of 2009 and is led by Patrick Manley, CEO. Within Ireland, Zurich focuses on two key business areas – the General Insurance business which is based in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 with a call centre in County Wexford, and the Life and Pensions business which is based in Blackrock, County Dublin. In Ireland, Zurich employs approximately 1,100 people.