The Rehumanism Prize · Questions
Short, plain answers: entering, judging, shipping and the show. The official rules have the full detail.
To see, reward and show more art that joins real skill with a clear purpose: art that gives us back our story. We call it Rehumanism. There are good prizes for representational art already, and we hope you keep entering them; this one adds $50,000 in prizes, an exhibition in Seattle and a book of the entries.
Yes. There is no fee to enter, to be selected or to win. We built the tools to handle entries ourselves, so your part is simply to upload your work. The one thing we ask is that you share your entry with a public post, so the word spreads.
Entries open on November 5, 2026 and close on February 21, 2027 at 11:59 pm Pacific. You can edit your entry until the deadline.
U.S. citizens 18 or older, wherever they live. We plan to open future years more widely.
Yes. Year one is for work you already have: from any year, shown before, entered in other competitions, even awarded elsewhere. If you have it, let us see it. It must still be yours, finished, handmade and available to exhibit if selected.
Up to 3 works. You pick the category for each work when you enter: Rehumanism: Beauty, Truth, Love; Portrait; or Open. Your works can be in different categories. For each, you also tick the value it carries most: Beauty, Truth or Love. Year one especially looks for emotional power, and for work that speaks to our own time.
Up to 150 words, in any language, on who the work is for and what you hope it does for the people who see it. Plain words are best. It is not an artist statement about your career.
Two to 5 photos of the work in progress (a sketch, the drawing on the canvas, the underpainting, a stage halfway) and a short note of up to 100 words on how you made it. They are strongly encouraged but not required, and the jury especially values seeing the process: it helps an entry in the judging rounds. They appear on your entry page, and for exhibited works they hang beside the painting.
To enter: at least 2,000 pixels on the long side, JPEG or PNG, under 10 MB. One main image of the whole work, cropped to its edges, with no frame or watermark. Process images need at least 1,200 pixels on the long side. If your work reaches the final round or is selected for the exhibition, we ask for full-resolution files within 7 days: at least 3,000 pixels on the long side (4,000 or more, or a print-quality file, preferred), TIFF, JPEG or PNG, plus process images at least 2,000 pixels on the long side. We will make a book from the entries, like the Seattle Prize Year One books. The book and the catalog are printed from the full-resolution files.
Because a free competition only works if artists hear about it. Within 7 days of entering, make one public post that starts with "I entered", includes #RehumanismPrize, @occidentalfinearts and your entry page link, then paste the post link into your entry. We check it automatically.
Any public post counts: Facebook, Threads, X, Bluesky, TikTok, LinkedIn, a blog or your own website. If you do not use social media at all, write to us and we will complete your entry without a post.
Yes, if you say so. Every entry says how AI was used: no AI, some AI (for example references or composition ideas) or extensive AI, with a short note. Using AI is not disqualifying. The test is whether the work is powerful and moving. The finished work must still be a physical original you made. Translation and spell-check tools for your statement need no declaration.
In three rounds. First, craft, blind: jurors see only the images. Second, the strongest entries are seen again with the statement of purpose and the process images, and 50 are chosen for the exhibition. Third, prizes are decided in person, in front of the original works in Seattle. Year one especially looks for emotional power, and for work that speaks to our own time.
Three independent judges from the wider figurative art world, invited and paid by the Foundation. They judge every round, and we will name them on this site once they have agreed to serve.
Grand Prize $25,000, Rehumanism Award $10,000, Portrait Award $5,000, Open Award $5,000, Emerging Artist Award $2,500, People's Choice Award $2,500. Each artist can win one cash award. Each of the 50 selected artists receives a $250 honorarium, in addition to the prizes.
On top of the cash prizes, the Conru Art Foundation will buy at least one exhibited work for its permanent collection, at the artist's own asking price. Up to $20,000, no commission. The purchased work joins the collection the Foundation is building. Winning here can mean being collected, not only awarded.
You are 35 or under on February 21, 2027, or you first showed your work in a public exhibition in 2022 or later. Tick the box when you enter; we check before the award is given.
From April 5, anyone can vote online for one of the exhibited works, after confirming an email address, and from the opening visitors can vote at the exhibition. One vote per person online, and one per visit at the show; every vote counts the same. Buying or faking votes disqualifies the work from People's Choice.
If you are selected
You pay to ship your work in and back, as at most competitions. You set up the return before it leaves your studio, so the same box brings it home.
You do, both ways, as at most competitions. Entering, being selected and winning are free. When you send your work, you also set up its return: a prepaid return label in the box, or a fine-art shipper booked for pickup.
To the ArtLove Salon, ArtLove Salon, 110 Union Street, 5th Floor, Seattle, WA 98101. It is received there, checked against your photos and stored safely until the exhibition, then hung at the Colisevm a few blocks away.
Yes. Drop-off and collection are by appointment at the Salon, Tuesday to Saturday, 12 to 4 PM; you book your time on your entry page. Pack it the same way, so it can go home in the same box.
Glassine directly on the painting, a board over the face, corner protectors, then bubble wrap, in a sturdy double-wall box or a crate. No packing peanuts, and acrylic glazing rather than glass. Selected artists get an illustrated guide and a one-page checklist.
Insure it yourself in transit, both ways. While it is in our care, from unpacking at the Salon to repacking for its return, we insure it, up to the limit in the official rules.
We repack your work in its own box and send it with your return label, or hand it to your fine-art shipper, or you collect it in person by appointment. Sold works go to their new owners.
At the Colisevm, the 1916 Coliseum Theatre at Fifth and Pike in downtown Seattle, May 13 to June 26, 2027. We hang 50 works, each with its statement and, where given, its process images.
Yes, with no commission to the Foundation. The work stays on view until the exhibition closes, and the buyer arranges collection or shipping.
Yes. You give us a non-exclusive license to show your images to run and promote the competition, with credit. We never sell prints or merchandise of your work without a separate agreement.
For each work the entry form asks: is it for sale, and at what price? Give the asking price in U.S. dollars, including any framing, or choose Not for sale. Prices are never shown on your public entry page. Selling is your choice. Works marked Not for sale are judged exactly the same.
We plan to publish a book from the entries, like the Seattle Prize Year One books. By entering you allow us to include your images, process images and statement in it, with credit and without fee. If your work appears, you get a free copy.
Selected artists are notified by March 26, 2027. The entry deadline is February 21, 2027.
They are examples chosen for commentary and education, each credited and linked to where it is held. We haven't sought permission for every image; in our judgment this is editorial fair use. If you have any concern about an image, please write to us through the contact page and we'll gladly address it.
