Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition 2022

The Royal Institute of Oil Painters invite entries to the OPEN Annual
Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in November 2022.
The deadline for entries is
Friday 9th September 2022
so you’ve still got time to be get organised and get
your entry in. 

This year’s theme is ‘Changing Times’, which can be interpreted widely. 

The last Private View of the ROI I went to – in 2018

I always like to give people a point of reference for entries in terms of
images of the last exhibition

So I’ve spent this morning looking for my photos of last years exhibition –
only to realise that the ROI has been really, really unlucky in that its
annual exhibition is held late in the year and got caught by pandemic scares / lockdowns in both 2020 and 2021. I was being very cautious well before lockdowns, so I’ve not seen an ROI Exhibition since
2019!

However there is a video tour of the 2021 exhibition – which was hung – and
the catalogue is available on Issuu

and a video of the 2020 exhibition – which is an hour and half long – see
below

Peter Graham ROI talks about eighty of the works in this year’s show, including paintings by long-established ROI members as well as pieces by non-member artists selected from open submission.

Call for Entries – ROI Annual Exhibition 2022

You can find the official and FULL Call for Entries here on

Below is as a summary ONLY.

Interestingly I note the new website indicates on its home page that

The Royal Institute of Oil Painters was founded in 1882 and is the only
major British art Society that promotes and exhibits work of the highest
standard exclusively in oil paint.

However I note that the Call for Entries still states “Acrylic and water-soluble oil paint is acceptable if framed as an oil, so as not to spoil the general appearance of the exhibition.” so I think maybe somebody needs to review the use of the word ‘exclusively’ on the ROI website.

Who can enter

  • The competition is open to all artists over the age of 18.
  • It is
    also open to international entries – you don’t even have to be live or work in
    the UK. However International Artists need to make sure they read the Mall
    galleries/FBA Notice notice about the need to register for VAT to get your
    artwork through Customs and into the UK! You might also find my page about
    International Art Shipping: How to ship / export art to other countries
    useful.

What sort of artwork can you enter

  • Eligible media includes: oil. Acrylic paint or water based oils are eligible if framed like an oil painting. Below is a table I constructed from reviewing the works selected for hanging in previous exhibitions. Over 90% of artwork has been in oil in the last six hing exhibitions between 2014-2019.
Number and percentage of works – by medium – in the ROI Annual Exhibitions 2014-2019
  • Size: The combined measurement of works accepted will not exceed 8 feet maximum per artist
  • Age: Work must have been completed within the last three years 
  • Previous Exhibitions: it must not have been previously shown at Mall Galleries.
  • In terms of presentation there are some very specific guidelines 
    • Wide mounts between painting and frame, as in watercolours, are not acceptable.
    • Glazed work is not encouraged.
    • Unframed work can be accepted if on a well-presented box canvas.
  • For sale: Work MUST be for sale
    • the minimum sale price is £300. 
    • Note that any prices must allow for the deduction of commission @45% plus VAT %20% on the commission sum – so for a work priced at £500 you will receive £230 after the deduction of commission (£225) plus VAT on commission (£45). The price also needs to cover the cost of the frame and shipping (there and back if unsold). 

This year’s theme is ‘Changing Times’, which can be interpreted widely. Artists are encouraged to contribute a work on the theme, however it is not compulsory. If a work is on the theme, please elaborate on how in the artwork description box.

How to enter

All work must be submitted online – and pre-selection also takes place online.

If you make it through the pre-selection from digital images, you’re then invited to take/send your artwork to the Mall Galleries for final selection for hanging in the exhibition – in front of a panel of ROI members.

This is the process you need to follow:

The exhibition will open Thursday 24 November, 10am to 5pm and will close – at 5pm on Saturday 10 December 2022.

There will also be an online exhibition of images hung in the exhibition on the Mall Galleries website and people can buy artwork online.

All unsold work must be collected on Thursday 15 December, 10am to 5pm

Awards and Prizes in 2022

CASH Prizes in 2022

  • The Phyllis Roberts Award – An award of £2,000 for an artist aged 30 or under 
  • The Tony Merrick Memorial Prize – An award of £250 in memory of the late Tony Merrick ROI (1948-2018) 
  • The ROI Emerging Artist Prize – A prize of £250 and the opportunity to spend a day with one of the Institute’s members, for an artist aged 30 or under at the time of submission 
  • The ROI Themed Painting Prize – £500 for the standout painting within the themed exhibition 
  • The Small Painting Prize – An award of £250, open to members and non-members, for the best small painting on display (maximum dimension of 12 inches / 30.5 cm, excluding frame) 
  • The Alan Gourley Memorial Award – An annual prize of £1,000, awarded for a painting of outstanding merit 
  • The Stanley Grimm Prize – Two awards totalling £700 (first prize £400, second prize £300), to the painters whose works receive the most votes from visitors to the exhibition 
  • The Menena Joy Schwabe Memorial Award – An award of £250 for an outstanding oil painter 

Young Artist Awards

Winsor & Newton Young Artist Awards (for artists aged 30 or under) 

  • First Prize: £1,000 Winsor & Newton Fine Art Materials 
  • Second Prize: £600 Winsor & Newton Fine Art Materials 
  • Third Prize: £400 Winsor & Newton Fine Art Materials 

Art Materials Prizes

  • Winsor & Newton Non-member Award – £150 worth of Winsor & Newton Fine Art Materials
  • Frank Herring Easel Award – An award of a versatile easel 

Publicity / Media Awards

  • The Artist Magazine Award – The winning artist will be featured in a forthcoming issue of The Artist magazine, print and digital editions 
  • The Dry Red Press Award – The winning work will be published as a greeting card by Dry Red Press in their ‘Prize Winners’ range

Medals

  • The Le Clerc Fowle Medal – In memory of Anne Le Clerc Fowle, presented annually for an outstanding group of paintings

Previous Exhibitions

You can find links to my previous reviews of exhibitions below.

Leave a Reply