Young Artist Open Exhibition 2026

If you know someone aged 15 and under who is a budding artist, why not encourage them to enter our Young Artist Open Exhibition?

The competition is free to enter, and selected works will be shown in an exhibition in the Ferens Art Gallery between Friday 16 October 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027.

The exhibition, previously known as the Junior Open, has been held annually at the Ferens Art Gallery since 2003 and celebrates the creative talent of young people in Hull and the surrounding area.

Each year there is a huge variety of work on display, from paintings and drawings, to pastels, collage, and prints. Subject matters also vary, including portraits, local landscapes and still life.

We accept artworks submitted by:

• individuals
• schools
• youth groups

Prizes and age categories

All submissions are in the running to win prizes in each of the age categories. Prizes have kindly been donated by Friends of the Ferens and The Hull and East Riding branch of The Arts Society and are awarded to the best entries in the following three categories -

• six and under
• seven to 11
• 12 to 15

Winners will be contacted in advance of the exhibition opening to inform them of their success and will be invited to a prize giving event on 17 October, 2026 at Ferens Art Gallery.

To enter the Young Artist Open Exhibition as an individual, school or youth group you must meet the following entry requirements -

• be aged 15 and under on the final date of submission – Sunday 28 June 2026.
• live or attend school in East Yorkshire, the Humber, or North/North-East Lincolnshire.

Please make sure that your artworks also meet the following criteria -

• artworks submitted should be on paper or card, and can be in a variety of media such as – paint, pastel, ink and collage.
• artworks must not be framed or on a box canvas.
• artworks must be no smaller than A4 size (210 x 297mm) and no larger than A2 size (420 x 594mm).
• individuals may only submit one two-dimensional piece of artwork.
• only one artwork can be submitted per child. Please do not submit artworks as both part of a school entry and as an individual.
• only submit original artwork as photographs or photocopies of artworks are not accepted. The only exception to this rule is if your artwork is required to remain at school during the hand in period for examination marking. In this instance, you may be allowed to submit an image of your artwork during the normal hand in period, before submitting the original artwork to the Ferens no later than September 14 2026. Please get in touch by email if this is something you might be interested in.

Important Information for Schools

If you are a school or youth group, you may submit a maximum of 30 pieces of artwork. Schools are welcome to submit artwork that has been created by more than one pupil such as a class entry.

All accepted artwork is attached to the wall using Velcro, so please ensure that they are not too heavy.

You must attach a completed entry form available from Ferens Art Gallery or via our website to the back of your artwork. Please write neatly otherwise we will not be able to contact you. You will need to provide your:

• name
• age
• title of the artwork
• email address & telephone number
• School name (only if submitting from a school)

To help ensure the smooth running of the entry process, we ask that school entries are submitted with an additional school entry form. The form and guidelines will be updated here soon.

Please make sure you access the guidance document below and follow the process for submitting your artwork. We cannot accept responsibility for misunderstandings due to document instructions not being followed correctly.

We aim to show as many entries as possible, however, if we have too many, we will have to make a final selection. Submissions from schools will be ensured a minimum of one entry.

Entries sent by post can be returned to you by post providing you include a self-address stamped envelop with your submission.

Please contact youngartistopen@hcandl.co.uk for any enquiries.

Guidelines, instructions and the entry form will be updated here soon.