News

Art of the Year 2025 Competition

Thursday, 15 January 2026

art of the year 2025

We love great art, and we especially love seeing the skill and effort that goes into creating something truly original by hand.

This “Art of the Year” promotion is all about celebrating Traditional Artists and the amazing talent we have right here in the UK. We want to reward the time and dedication you put into your work.

PACK & SEND is proud to support the UK art community and help your best piece reach a wider audience!

What you can win:

The overall winner receives a prize package designed for immediate professional benefit:

£250 PACK & SEND Shipping Voucher: Receive a credit to use at your local Service Centre, covering the secure packing and shipping costs for your next major exhibition, gallery sale, or commission.
National Recognition: The winner’s artwork and profile will be the focus of our national campaign, featuring significant exposure across our channels.

Top Three Finalists

Our top three artists gain valuable exposure to boost their professional brand:

Local Media Spotlight: We will issue a dedicated press release featuring your name and achievement to local news outlets in your area, helping you gain crucial recognition within your community and boosting your professional profile.

Publicity Photo Opportunity: We may invite you for a celebratory photo shoot at your nearest PACK & SEND Service Centre, or visit you in your studio to shoot a high-quality, professional image for use in all related press and publicity materials.

Official Entry Guidelines: Art of the Year 2025

To ensure the integrity of our “Art of the Year” promotion, all applicants must follow these guidelines:

1. Eligibility

Eligibility	Requirement	Details
UK Residency	Residence	Entrants must be current residents of the United Kingdom, including England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Age	Minimum Age	Entrants must be 18 years of age or older by the submission deadline.
Originality	Artwork Criteria	All submitted artwork must be the entrant’s own original work and completed within the last 12 months (for example, since January 2025).

2. Accepted Mediums: The Traditional Artist

This competition is exclusively for Traditional Art disciplines. Submissions must be created using physical media, tools, and processes.

Category	Accepted Mediums (examples, not exhaustive)
Painting	Oil, acrylic, watercolour, gouache, egg tempera, encaustic.
Drawing & Illustration	Charcoal, pastel (soft or oil), graphite pencil, pen and ink, coloured pencil, chalk.
Sculpture	Bronze casting, stone carving, wood carving, clay or ceramics, plaster, metalwork (assembled or forged).
Printmaking	Etching, engraving, linocut, woodcut, lithography, screen printing (hand-pulled editions only).
Mixed Media (Traditional)	Works combining two or more traditional materials, provided the artwork is predominantly physical and human-made.

Inadmissible Works: Digital painting, digital photography, AI-generated images, video art, digital illustration, and purely conceptual or performance-based art are not eligible for this specific promotion.

3. Integrity & The AI Policy

We value the direct application of human skill and artistic technique.

No AI Generation: The final artwork, and any substantive elements used in its creation, must not have been generated, in whole or in part, by Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, including text-to-image generators (e.g., Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion).
No AI Modification: AI tools must not be used to digitally enhance, modify, or complete the final submission image (e.g., enhancing details, correcting flaws, or adding textures).

4. Submission & Presentation

Requirement	Standard
Submission Format	The competition is fully digital. Submissions must be provided as high-quality digital images (JPEG or PNG) of the final artwork.
Image Quality	Images must be clear, well lit and accurately represent the colour and texture of the physical work. Images should not be digitally altered beyond basic colour correction or cropping.
File Specifications	Images should be a minimum of 300 dpi and no larger than 5MB per file. Specific image dimensions may be detailed within the online submission form.
Artist Statement	A brief artist statement of up to 150 words is required, outlining the concept, process and materials used for each submission.