Royal Society of British Artists

Overview

The Royal Society of British Artists invites artists of all backgrounds to submit original works in painting, sculpture, printmaking, and drawing for the RBA Annual Exhibition 2026 at Mall Galleries. Successful applicants will have their work exhibited in the gallery and online, be eligible to win prizes and awards, receive an invitation to the Opening Reception, and have the opportunity to sell their work.

Key Dates

• Submissions open: Monday 8 September 2025, 12 noon
• Submissions close: Friday 9 January 2026, 5pm
• Notification of selection: Friday 16 January, 12 noon
• Receiving Day: Saturday 14 February, 10am to 5pm
• Exhibition opens: Thursday 26 February, 10am to 5pm daily
• Private View (invite only): Thursday 26 February, 5pm to 9pm
• Exhibition closes: Saturday 7 March, 5pm
• Collection of unsold work: Thursday 12 March, 10am to 5pm

Eligibility

Any artist aged 18 or over from anywhere in the world may enter. Work must be an original creation by the artist and must not have been previously exhibited in London. Artists may submit a maximum of 6 works, from which up to 4 works per artist may be selected.

Media & Size

Acceptable media include painting, sculpture, drawing and original prints (excluding photography). Works should not be larger than 2.4m along the longest dimension.

Submission Fee

There is a non-refundable submission fee of £20 per work, or £14 per work for artists aged 35 or under. The submission fee includes free admission to the exhibition (normally £6). Submission fees support the not-for-profit programme at Mall Galleries.

How to Submit

Register or log in to the Open Exhibition Submission System (OESS) to submit between Monday 8 September 2025 and Friday 9 January 2026. Upload one image per submission in JPEG or PNG format under 5MB, showing the complete work. Optional two additional images per work may be submitted showing details. Also required: title, medium, size (cm), year of completion, and price per work, with an option to add an artwork description.

Prizes & Awards

The RBA offers significant prizes and awards including The Huaicun Zhang Award for Excellence (£10,000), The de Laszlo Foundation Award (£2,000 for artists 35 or under), The Michael Harding Awards (two prizes of £500 in art materials), Daler-Rowney Award (£500 in materials), Ronald Benham Memorial Award (£500), and numerous additional awards for specific categories and achievements.

Presentation Requirements

Frames or stretchers should be sufficiently substantial to withstand mirror plating with 12mm (size 6) screws. Use plain, simple framing. Metal frames, unprotected glass edges and clip frames are inadmissible. Remove all fittings and fixings from the back of works.