Rules and Guidelines: Zurich Young Portrait Prize 2023

• Please read the following rules before entering the Zurich Young Portrait Prize 2023.
• You can download a PDF version of these rules, if you like.

Eligibility and entry requirements

• You must be between 0-18 years of age on the date you created the portrait.
• The portrait must have been produced within the last 12 months from the date of submission.
• You can enter if you are ordinarily a resident of the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.
• You may submit one original artwork only.
• You may enter the competition only once per year.
• If you are a family member of an employee, Board member or other officer of the National Gallery of Ireland (the Gallery), Zurich (Sponsor) or any connected company, unfortunately you are not eligible to enter.

Submitting your entry

• You must fill out the entry form in full. INCOMPLETE OR INACCURATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.
• Download the Zurich Young Portrait Prize entry form from the Gallery's website.
• Please attach the entry form to an email as a Word document and email it to [email protected] as well as your attached jpeg image(s) of your portrait. Photos of entry forms will not be accepted.
• If you are submitting an audio work or a video work, please email you entry form as a Word document to [email protected] and send your audio or video file to [email protected] via WeTransfer.
• If you have trouble sending your entry form as a Word document and need to request an alternative format for emailing your entry form, please email [email protected]
• No postal entries and no actual artworks will be accepted by the Gallery.

Your portrait

• The submitted portrait must be the entrant’s own original work.
• Portraits can be submitted through your school, but all submissions will be judged on an individual basis.
• Portraits that have already won an award can be entered.
• Entrants who are shortlisted must have the consent of the sitter. This will be a signature of the sitter on a form that the Gallery will send to shortlisted entrants. If the sitter is 16 or under (or can otherwise not consent on their own behalf) the shortlisted entrant must provide the consent of the sitter’s parent/guardian.
• All portraits must include a human subject who is living at the time the portrait is created.
• The portrait must be of someone you know or a self-portrait.
• Portraits of unidentified, unidentifiable, fictional or imaginary figures (whether living or not) will not be accepted. However, you can be as imaginative as you wish in how you choose to represent your sitter.
• Portraits of historical figures will not be accepted.
• Portraits of living famous or public figures will not be accepted unless you personally know the sitter.
• The portrait must be of a size and medium that does not inhibit its display in the Gallery. The Gallery has the right to exclude artworks that cannot be reasonably displayed due to their medium or size.
• Maximum weight is 40 kg.
• The materials you use for your portrait must be non-perishables; no foods e.g. pasta, rice, flowers.
• Your portrait should be original and made by you.

Images and digital files

• Only entries submitted via email with a digital image/file of the artwork attached (in the format outlined below) will be accepted. No postal entries and no actual artworks will be accepted by the Gallery.
• The image of your portrait that you submit with your entry form must show the finished version of your portrait. You cannot change your portrait after it has been submitted to the prize, or it may no longer be admissible.

How to take a digital photo of a 2D or 3D portrait

• Image(s) in your submission must be clear and include the portrait only.
• Your portrait will be judged based on the image you send to us. Make sure it is taken with a good-quality camera phone or digital SLR.
• Photograph your portrait in good light (natural day light is best), and make sure there is nothing in the way of your portrait when photographing it.
• Avoid using filters on a camera; the photograph should represent the real thing!
• Try hanging your portrait on a wall; this will help you achieve a good representation of your artwork.
• If it is a three-dimensional portrait take a picture from three different angles. Make sure you clear some floor space or a table to do this.
• See an example of a good photograph below:

Good photo of an artwork:

Bad photo of an artwork:

2D and 3D artworks

• For 2D artworks attach 1 image only. Please do not embed the image of the work in your email. Add the image as an attachment.
• For 3D artworks attach a maximum of 3 images, each of which should comply with the specifications.
• Image format: JPG
• Image quality: best quality / least compression, 300DPI
• Maximum file size: 3MB
• Any applications with image files larger than 3MB will not be accepted.

Video artworks

• Video file: share video file via the file sharing service WeTransfer.
• Use your own name for the title of the video file.

Audio artworks

• Audio file: MP3 or WAV
• Use your own name for the title of the audio file.

Shortlisted portraits

• Entrants selected for the shortlist will be informed by early August 2023.
• The artist/parent/guardian of the shortlisted artworks must hand deliver their portrait to the Gallery by appointment between Monday 11 and Tuesday 12 September 2023. All dates are subject to change. In special circumstances, the Gallery can arrange delivery of a shortlisted artwork.
• The twenty shortlisted entrants will come away with a professionally framed/display-ready artwork and will have their artwork shown at the Gallery.
• By entering the Prize, the entrant (or, where aged 16 or under or otherwise not capable of giving consent on their own behalf, their parent guardian on their behalf) agrees to be bound by these Rules.
• The sponsor will have no influence on the judgement of the winners of this competition.
• The Gallery is not responsible for any damage to or loss of an artwork while on display, however caused.
• All shortlisted artworks will remain in the Gallery until the closure of the Zurich Young Portrait Prize display on 10 March 2024. Once the exhibition closes, shortlisted portraits (including the winning portraits) must be collected by (or on behalf of) the relevant entrants. Shortlisted works must be collected within a week of the de-installation of the exhibition.
• Shortlisted works cannot be reclaimed prior to the closure of the display.
• The winning entrants will be awarded a prize of a personalised box of art materials and a cash prize. Make sure that you check the email you provide in your personal details between late July and early August. If a winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within 30 days of notification, the Gallery reserves the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and select an alternative winner.
• The prize-giving ceremony will take place at the Gallery on 12 December 2023. All dates are subject to change. The Gallery will notify the shortlisted artists as to whether the ceremony will take place in the Gallery or will take place as a virtual ceremony.
• The decisions of the judges are final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into in relation to such decisions.
• The Gallery reserves the right to disqualify any artwork at any time if the entrant has not adhered to these Rules, even if the work has been shortlisted or selected as the winner.
• Shortlisted works must be available for the entire duration the exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland. The Gallery is solely responsible for the curation and hang of the exhibition and reserves the right to change displays as it sees fit.
• The entrant will not do anything to knowingly bring the reputation of the Gallery, Sponsor or Prize into disrepute.

Legal Notices

• Consent: The entrant (or, where aged 16 or under or otherwise not capable of giving consent on their own behalf, their parent guardian on their behalf) warrants that (i) the portrait complies with all of the eligibility and entry requirements set out in these Rules; (ii) the entrant is the owner of and holds the copyright in the portrait; and (iii) the entrant consents to, and has obtained the consent of the sitter to, use the portrait and the sitter’s personal details in the manner set out in these Rules.
• Copyright: The copyright in all portraits exhibited in the Prize will remain the property of the entrant. However, it is a condition of entry that the Gallery shall have a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, irrevocable licence: (i) to reproduce images of the artworks for publicity, educational, reference and all broadcast and digital purposes in connection with the Prize, publication, possible tour and any subsequent publications; (ii) to provide images to third parties such as national and international press/broadcasters in connection with the Prize; (iii) to use a representation of the winning artworks for any advertising, marketing, promotional or other purposes; and (iv) to permit the Sponsor to create and distribute 20 copies of each winning artwork to persons of its choosing. Should the Gallery decide to produce commercial products containing or comprising copies of artworks for sale (such as posters, postcards etc), a standard royalty will be offered to the entrants as well as a set number of copies for their own use.
• The Gallery may, but shall not be obliged to, film and broadcast the processes of the Prize.  The entrant (or, where aged 16 or under or otherwise not capable of giving consent on their own behalf, their parent guardian on their behalf) irrevocably consents to their portrait, as well as footage of the entrant, being included in such filming, whether broadcast or not.  The entrant acknowledges that all intellectual property rights and any other rights in such footage will vest in the Gallery and that Gallery shall be entitled without reference to the entrant or the entrant’s sitter, to edit such footage as it sees fit and to distribute it in any media anywhere in the world. The entrant (or, where aged 16 or under or otherwise not capable of giving consent on their own behalf, their parent guardian on their behalf) hereby irrevocably waives all and any performers’ moral rights and any other similar rights which may be vested in the entrants in respect of their contribution to such footage in favour of the Gallery and its successors and assigns.
• Data Protection: The entrant (or, where aged 16 or under or otherwise not capable of giving consent on their own behalf, their parent or guardian on their behalf)  hereby acknowledges and agrees that any personal data provided to the Gallery pursuant to, or in connection with, these Terms and Conditions, including personal data relating to the entrant and the sitter provided on the Entry Form and the Consent & Release Form, may be processed by the Gallery (or third party processors on its behalf) for the following purposes: 
  • a) for the performance of these Terms & Conditions, including, where applicable, processing payment; 
  • b) where applicable, for recording the accessioning of the Work and any commissioned work produced by the winner of the 
  • Competition in the National Collection, in line with the Gallery’s obligations under the National Gallery of Ireland Acts 1854 to 
  • 1963; 
  • c) in relation to the Credit Line, for publication on the Gallery’s website, in any publication, display label and/or promotional material produced by or on the behalf of the Gallery where the artwork is featured; 
  • d) for any entrants shortlisted, for press and other promotional purposes in connection with the Competition, including social media; 
  • e) for general administrative purposes in connection with the entrant’s artwork, including transport, delivery and collection of the artwork;
  • f) where applicable, for entry into TMS, the Gallery’s collection management system; Capture, the Gallery’s CRM system and the 
  • Gallery’s copyright database; 
  • g) to invite the entrant to any event in which the artwork is exhibited or related press, publicity or other events hosted by the Gallery; 
  • h) for any data processing necessary in order for the Gallery to carry out its public interest task of increasing or diffusing knowledge of the visual arts, in accordance with its obligations under the National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997; 
  • i) for financial auditing purposes; and 
  • j) for statistical, historical and archival research purposes. 
• Any personal information processed by the Gallery will be retained for a 24-month period to fulfil the purposes outlined above, unless kept for historical or archival research purposes. For more information as regards your rights in relation to your personal data, please read our Privacy Notice.
• These Rules shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Irish law and any disputes arising under these rules shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts.

The Zurich Young Portrait Prize is an inclusive art competition open to children and young people of all abilities from across the island of Ireland.

Glossary of terms:

• Portrait: a representation of a person made out of any material e.g. a painting, drawing, collage, photograph, sculpture, audio or video
• Entrant: a person who enters or takes part in something
• Sitter: a person who sits for a portrait
• Consent: permission for something to happen or agreement to do something
• Diptych: an image created on two flat surfaces, usually joined by hinges
• Triptych: an image created on three flat surfaces, usually joined by hinges
• Material: anything you use to make your portrait (e.g. paint, ink, crayon, collage, pencil, wire, wood)
• 2D: two-dimensional surface (e.g. a sheet of paper, card or wood, stretched canvas)
• 3D: three-dimensional object (e.g. a sculpture made of material such as wood, wire, steel)
• Video: a recording of moving visual images made digitally or on videotape
• Audio: sound that is recorded, transmitted, or reproduced
• MB: Megabyte. This is a multiple of units for digital information. A digital image size is measured in bytes
• DPI: Dots per inch. A measure of resolution used for printed text or images; the more dots per inch, the higher the resolution

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