THE BIENNIAL RUTH BORCHARD SELF-PORTRAIT PRIZE
The next prize will be held in 2021 – please follow the collection on Instagram to stay up to date
About the Prize
The Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize celebrates contemporary British and Irish self-portraiture. It offers a unique opportunity for both established and emerging artists to compete for a £10,000 prize, the chance to be included in a curated, four-month exhibition at Piano Nobile Kings Place and, opportunity for their work to be purchased by the Ruth Borchard Next Generation Collection – the UK’s only collection of self-portraits.
For 2019, the winner of the £10 000 prize will be selected by a prestigious panel of judges including Sean Rainbird (Director of the National Gallery of Ireland), Professor Deborah Swallow (Director of the Courtauld Institute of Art), Air Chief Marshall Sir Stephen Hillier (Head of the RAF), Martin Gayford (art critic and writer), Marc Steene (Director of Outside In) and 2017 prize winner, Benjamin Ogbebor.
FOUNDATIONS OF THE BIENNIAL RUTH BORCHARD SELF-PORTRAIT PRIZE
To commemorate the centenary of Ruth Borchard’s birth, the inaugural Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize was held in 2011 at Piano Nobile Kings Place. Encouraging the development of self-portraiture in British art it aims to reflect and celebrate the traditions which inform the Borchard Collection.
Open to all artists working, living or studying in the UK and Ireland and, international artists of British and Irish heritage, the biennial prize looks to promote an interpretation and exploration of the self-portraiture genre and inspire an exploration of visual identity.
Unlike many other competitions there are no restrictions on size of work and a wide variety of mediums are welcomed.
Previous winners of the Competition include Celia Paul (2011), Thomas Newbolt (2013), and Shanti Panchal (2015) and their self-portraits, alongside paintings by Maggi Hambling CBE, Anthony Eyton RA, John Keane and many other respected British artists have been purchased for the Next Generation Collection.Amassed from prize submissions, and continually growing, The Next Generation Collection, extends Ruth Borchard’s project into the twenty-first century. Retaining the dynamic growth and evolution with which Ruth Borchard began her monumental undertaking, it is an unparelled body of work that supports practicing British artists, delineates trends in the contemporary art scene, and demonstrates the diversity of contemporary British society at large.
