Scottish Portrait Awards Exhibit

The Scottish Portrait Awards returns this autumn with its most ambitious show ever. Bringing together over 80 portraits, the touring exhibition is at the Kirkcudbright Galleries, Dumfries and Galloway from 14 October 2023 – 14 January 2024.
The Scottish Portrait Awards offer Scotland’s biggest awards for portrait art including a £5,000 first prize for the Sutherland Independent Scottish Portrait Award in Fine Art.
For the first time, the exhibition’s photography entries include works created through any photographic process including colour. Winners of the new MPB Scottish Portrait Award in Photography, will each receive a prize of £2,000 for a photographic work in colour and in black and white.
In 2023 the awards have also been thrilled to welcome guest judge, the internationally renowned photographer Albert Watson OBE, who personally reviewed every photographic work entered before choosing the winner of the £1,000 SPA Albert Watson Portrait Prize.
The Scottish Portrait Awards has quickly established itself as a barometer of contemporary Scottish art practice, giving visibility to a mix of well-established artists as well as newcomers across a wide variety of styles. The competition is open to anyone over 16 years, born, living or studying in Scotland, regardless of experience. This year’s exhibition includes 14 works by artists and photographers under 25 years of age.