Two Wexford artists shortlisted for Prize at the National Gallery of Ireland

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.

Two Wexford artists have been named among the 26 artists from across the country shortlisted for the AIB Portrait Prize; Caolán Barron with his photograph titled Isabella Gerbola, Circus Gerbola, Tramore, 2023 and Darragh O’Connell with John and Fionnán, a work in oil on canvas. Caolán Barron,photograph: Isabella Gerbola, Circus Gerbola, Tramore, 2023 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. Shortlisted artists for the AIB Portrait Prize 2024 at the National Gallery of Ireland: Caolán Barron (Wexford), Isabella Gerbola, Circus Gerbola, Tramore, 2023, photograph Harriet Casey (Meath), Are You Sitting Comfortably?, oil on canvas Shane Coughlan (Dublin), Róisín Dubh, photograph on photo rag paper David Creedon (Cork), Miss Evans in her Sweetshop, photograph Philip Thomas Crean (Dublin), 64, photograph Lorraine Dunne (Westmeath), Aoife on Dollymount, oil on canvas Amanda Dunsmore (Clare), Lydia, Dr Lydia Foy, 2022, filmed video portrait, silent, 18 mins Ellius Grace (Dublin), Shane MacGowan At Home, 2021, photograph David Hamilton (Armagh), The Family Bowles and The Fiscal Black Hole, acrylic on canvas Neil-Jack (Alphonsus) Hamilton (Donegal), Jennifer McShane, oil on canvas Gearóid Arthur Hayes (Limerick), Kwena Chokoe, oil on board Beverley Healy (Antrim), Sibling Travellers, mixed media (egg tempera, oil and acrylic) on panel Markela Iacovou (Dublin), 10.07.1980, photograph edited in photoshop and illustrator, digital printing on canvas and manual work with hagiography pigments and caustic liquid Robert Jackson (Dublin), Beth in Low Light, oil on roughened brass plate Joy Kavanagh (Cork), Self-subject; In bloom, acrylic on wooden board Martin Maguire (Louth), GameBoy, oil on canvas Arann McCormack (Wicklow), I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, photograph Emily McGardle (Monaghan), The Pox, coloured pencil and pen on paper Laurence J McMahon (Dublin), Mary Lou McDonald President of Sinn Féin, photograph Conor O’Connell (Roscommon), Ómra, oil on copper panel Darragh O’Connell (Wexford), John and Fionnán, oil on canvas Mick O’Dea (Clare), Fergus Martin, oil on canvas Cara Rose (Dublin), Ailbhe and Michelle, coloured pencil on mounted paper Kevin Sharkey (Dublin), Robyn, photograph Robert Stothard (Leitrim), Carl in the Box Room, photograph Michael Wann (Sligo), Camille, charcoal on paper Shortlisted artists for the AIB Young Portrait Prize 2024 at the National Gallery of Ireland: Phelim McEvoy, Age 3 (Carlow), Self Portrait of my Future Self, pencil on paper Rosie Dwyer, Age 4 (Wicklow), My Hair at the end of the Day, paint, markers and pencils on paper Allanah McDonald Brown, Age 5 (Wicklow), Allanah The Mermaid, mixed media Hugo Cashell, Age 5 (Meath), Gill in the garden and the sun is setting, acrylic ink on paper Victoria Yan-Rock, Age 6 (Dublin), Father’s Day, oil pastel on paper Adam Wiercioch Chinatamunnee, Age 8 (Cavan), My Mother, oil pastel on paper Roman Petrova, Age 9 (Limerick), Vivid Impressions, coloured pencil on paper Guorui Sui, Age 10 (Dublin), My Little Sister, oil on canvas Conor Mooney, Age 11 (Dublin), My Best Friend, pencil and oil pastel on canvas Junxi Yi, Age 11 (Meath), Me in Chinese Traditional Dress, oil pastel, nail polish and gem stickers on canvas Sarah Leyden, Age 14 (Dublin), Park Life, oil on canvas Avni Mittal, Age 14 (Cork), Inner Reflection, acrylic on canvas Zihan He, Age 15 (Dublin), My Mum, acrylic on canvas Aoibhe O’Connor, Age 15 (Waterford), Breakthrough, acrylic on canvas Evan Ward, Age 15 (Dublin), Family Unit Joe, clay Aoibhe Devereux, Age 16 (Waterford), Tumtha, acrylic on canvas board Kate Glanville, Age 16 (Dublin), One World, pencil and paint on paper Darragh Granahan, Age 16 (Galway), My Younger Self, acrylic on canvas Julia Kardas, Age 18 (Clare), Dawn in Molten Blue, acrylic and pastel on paper Taibat Rasheed, Age 18 (Dublin), Spring, graphite 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