PORTRAIT is a national platform celebrating contemporary portraiture in South Africa, designed to reflect the full range of how artists depict (or evoke) human presence, identity, and connection. Finalists are presented in a major public exhibition, and winners are announced on Opening Night.

The Prize is open to artists working in South Africa, whether you’re emerging, mid-career, or established. You don’t need a gallery, representation, or formal training to enter. If you have a strong portrait work, you’re welcome here.

PORTRAIT is intentionally inclusive. We accept portrait works across painting, drawing, print, photography, and also sculpture, installation, digital, video, and performance documentation. If your work is portraiture (however you interpret that) and can be exhibited safely and professionally, it’s eligible in principle.

We welcome everything from traditional practice to cutting-edge new media, and we’re equally open to figurative, conceptual, and more abstract approaches, provided the work has a clear portrait intention.

No. PORTRAIT supports a broad, contemporary understanding of portraiture. Realism is welcome, but so is abstraction, conceptual work, symbolic portraiture, experimental practice, and work that explores identity and presence in unconventional ways.

Yes, collaborations are welcome. Please ensure your entry clearly credits all collaborators and explains each contributor’s role.

An independent multidisciplinary jury assesses eligible entries. The process is designed to be fair and to prioritise work with a strong voice: concept, execution, and presentation all matter. In the first round, works are judged anonymously, with final deliberations considering the full strength of the work as presented.

Yes. We want artists working beyond the “standard frame” to feel genuinely welcome. If your work requires AV, installation considerations, or special presentation needs, include clear documentation at submission stage. Where possible, exhibition support will be coordinated for finalists so the work can be experienced as intended.

Finalists are exhibited in a major public exhibition that runs for four weeks, with free entry for audiences. Exhibiting artists receive an honorarium (PORTRAIT does not operate as a pay-to-exhibit model), and the exhibition is supported through a structured partnership model that connects sponsors with named awards and outcomes.

PORTRAIT is designed to create tangible value for artists, including professional visibility, a strong public exhibition platform, and industry connections — not just a single winner moment. Our partnership model also helps build bridges between organisations with resources and artists with ambition: a practical “everyone wins” structure that grows cultural value and opportunity.

Opening Night is the celebration at the heart of PORTRAIT, a high-energy, feel-good launch of the finalists’ exhibition and the moment the major awards are announced.

It’s a free event for all exhibiting finalists (each finalist may bring one guest), and includes canapés and drinks, entertainment, and a room full of people who actually matter to artists: sponsors and partners, curators, collectors, cultural leaders, press, and industry representatives.

Think: a fun, generous, properly special evening that honours the artists — while also creating real connections and future opportunities.

Yes, there is an entry fee per work, which supports prize delivery, exhibition costs, and professional administration. Concession policies may apply. Please see the Entry Guidelines for the current fee and eligibility details.

Yes. You may submit multiple works, as long as each entry meets the guidelines and is submitted separately.

You’ll submit clear documentation of the work (images and/or video stills as relevant), basic work details, and any supporting information required by the Entry Guidelines. If the work is time-based or installation-based, include concise documentation that shows how it should be experienced.

Please review the Entry Guidelines and timeline for the full criteria, deadlines, and submission requirements. If you’re unsure whether your work qualifies, reach out — we’d rather help you enter than have you self-exclude.

Use the Contact page or email the team with a short description of your question and (if relevant) the medium you’re working in. We aim to respond helpfully and without gatekeeping.