The Occidental Prize 2027

Rules & questions.

The summary first, then the official rules (open any section for the full wording), then a few common questions.

At a glance

Free to enter. No fee at any stage.
$50,000 in cash prizes, plus at least one work bought for the Foundation's collection.
Paintings only, made in 2024 or later. Work shown or entered elsewhere is fine.
Painted by hand, without using AI-generated images. Paint from life, from photographs or from your imagination.
Open to U.S. citizens 18 or older, wherever they live.
Up to 3 paintings per artist, each in one category.
Entries open November 5, 2026 and close March 31, 2027, 11:59 pm Pacific.
Three independent jurors, announced this winter, choose the works for the show and the jury awards.
50 to 100 works are shown at the Colisevm in downtown Seattle, May 13 to June 26, 2027. Each selected artist receives an honorarium of $100 to $250, depending on the size of the work, to help with shipping.

This is a summary. The full rules below govern.

The full rules

Organizer and nature of the Competition

Run by the Conru Art Foundation. Free to enter. Winners are chosen on merit, not by chance.

1.1The Rehumanism Prize (the "Competition") is organized by the Conru Art Foundation, a nonprofit, through the Occidental Fine Arts Center, 311 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104 (the "Foundation", "we", "us").
1.2This is a competition of skill. Winners of the jury awards are chosen by an independent jury on the merits of the work; the People's Choice Award is decided by public votes. Chance plays no part.
1.3Entry is free. No purchase, payment or donation is required at any stage, and none improves the chance of being selected or winning.
1.4By entering, you agree to these rules and to the decisions of the jury and the Foundation, which are final on all matters relating to the Competition.

Key dates

Entries close March 31, 2027. The show runs May 13 to June 26, 2027, and works go home from July 6 to July 10, 2027.

2.1Entries are accepted from Thursday, November 5, 2026 until Wednesday, March 31, 2027 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time. Late entries are not accepted.
2.2Judging takes place after the deadline and through April 2027. Selected artists are notified by Friday, April 16, 2027 and must confirm by Sunday, April 18, 2027. The exhibited works are announced, and People's Choice voting opens, on Monday, April 19, 2027.
2.3Selected works must arrive in Seattle from Tuesday, April 20 to Saturday, May 1, 2027.
2.4Final judging takes place in front of the works in early May. The awards evening and opening are on Thursday, May 13, 2027, at the Colisevm in Seattle. The exhibition runs to Saturday, June 26, 2027.
2.5People's Choice voting closes Wednesday, June 23, 2027 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time; the award is announced on June 26, 2027.
2.6Works leave the exhibition from Tuesday, July 6 to Saturday, July 10, 2027 (section 12).
2.7We may change dates for reasons outside our control. We will post any change on the Competition site and email entrants.

Who can enter

U.S. citizens 18 or older, wherever they live.

3.1Artists aged 18 or older on March 31, 2027 who are citizens of the United States, wherever they live.
3.2Artists who are not U.S. citizens are not eligible this year. We plan to open future editions more widely.
3.3Not eligible: Foundation employees, officers and directors; the jurors and anyone who helps review entries; and the immediate family and household members of any of them. Seattle Prize fellows and former applicants are welcome.
3.4Emerging artists: you may be considered for the Emerging Artist Award if, on March 31, 2027, you are 35 or under, or you first showed your work in a public exhibition (group or solo, in person or juried online) in 2022 or later. Student shows and open studios do not count as a first public exhibition. You declare this on the entry form; before the award is given, we will ask the chosen artist for proof of age or a short exhibition history.
3.5Each artist enters under their own name. Collaborative works are accepted if every artist named is eligible; any prize is shared equally.
3.6We may ask any entrant for proof of age, residence or identity. Entrants who cannot provide it may be disqualified.

What you can enter

Up to 3 representational original paintings, each in one category, made in 2024 or later.

4.1Up to 3 works per artist. You choose a category for each work on the entry form, and your works may be in different categories. Each work is entered once, in one category.
4.2Categories: Rehumanism: Beauty, Truth, Love (the flagship category); Portrait; and Open (any other representational subject, such as figure, landscape, still life, interiors, animals or imaginative work). The Grand Prize, Emerging Artist Award and People's Choice Award are chosen from the exhibited works; you do not enter them separately.
4.3Each work must have been made (completed) in 2024 or later. Works shown before or entered or awarded in other competitions are eligible, as long as they are finished and you can lend them for the exhibition.
4.4Works must be representational, original paintings, painted by hand by the entrant, without using AI-generated images (section 8).
4.5Paintings only. Accepted media: oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, tempera, encaustic, mixed media where paint is the primary medium, or another paint-based medium.
4.6Not accepted: drawings, prints and giclees, photography, sculpture, digital-only work, work with printed or digitally transferred elements, and copies of another artist's work.
4.7Size: two-dimensional works no larger than 72 inches (183 cm) on the longest side, framed, and 75 lb (34 kg). Larger works may be entered if you say so on the form; we may ask for details before selecting them.
4.8Selected works must be available from April 20 to June 26, 2027. They may be sold during the exhibition but must stay on view until it closes.
4.9Portraits and other works showing a recognizable living person need that person's consent to be entered and reproduced, or a parent's or guardian's consent if the person is under 18. Selected artists sign a short consent form.

How to enter

Enter online: images, a short statement and a hand-made confirmation, for each work.

5.1To enter, submit your works on the entry form. Your entry is complete, and is judged, once you submit it. Sharing it afterwards is optional (section 7).
5.2Enter online through the Competition site, signed in to a free Occidental account. For each work, give the title, medium, size, year, category, the value it carries most (Beauty, Truth or Love), a statement of purpose, a hand-made confirmation (section 8), images, and whether it is for sale and at what price.
5.3Statement of purpose: up to 150 words on who the work is for and what it hopes to do for the people who see it. Any language is welcome. Statements may be shown with the work, on your entry page and in printed materials.
5.4Images at entry: at least 2,000 pixels on the long side, JPEG or PNG, under 10 MB, in color profile sRGB. Smaller images are not accepted. One main image of the whole work, cropped to its edges, with no frame, mat, watermark, signature overlay or border. Up to two optional detail images.
5.5Full-resolution files from finalists and selected artists: if your work reaches the final round of judging or is selected for the exhibition, you must send, within 7 days of our request, a main image at least 3,000 pixels on the long side (4,000 or more, or a print-quality file, preferred), TIFF, JPEG or PNG, in sRGB or Adobe RGB, and any studio steps at least 2,000 pixels on the long side. These files are used for the Competition book and catalog (section 14). If they are not sent in time, the work may be left out of the book and catalog, and a selected work may be replaced in the exhibition.
5.6Images must show the work accurately, without retouching beyond color correction and cropping. Selected works that differ significantly from their images may be withdrawn from the exhibition and from the prizes.
5.7For sale: for each work, the entry form asks whether it is for sale and at what price. Give the asking price in U.S. dollars, including any framing, or choose Not for sale. You may change the price until April 16, 2027, except while an acquisition offer on the work is open (section 11). Prices are used for the Collector's Purchase and acquisition offers (section 11) and for sales during the exhibition, and are never shown on your entry page or to jurors.
5.8You will receive an email confirming each entry. You can edit an entry until the deadline. Entries not submitted by the deadline are not judged.

Studio steps and behind-the-scenes photos

Optional studio steps the jurors may see in round two, and private behind-the-scenes photos they never see.

6.1For each work, you may add 2 to 5 images of the work in progress (for example a sketch or study, the first lines on the support, the underpainting, a middle stage) and a process note of up to 100 words on how you made it. Studio steps are strongly encouraged. They are not required.
6.2Behind-the-scenes photos are optional and private: up to six photos of you with your painting and of the work in progress. Judges never see them, and neither does any automated screening. If your work is selected and you agree, we may use them to share its story.
6.3Selected artists will be invited to record a short video about their work. Judging stays blind: we never ask for a video, or for anything that shows who you are, when you enter.
6.4Studio steps must be of the entered work, or of studies made for it, and must be honest records: no staged or generated images. Photos of your hands, palette or studio are welcome; avoid showing your face or signature, so that Round 1 can stay blind.
6.5Jurors see studio steps in Round 2, beside the finished work and the statement. The jury especially values seeing the process: it helps jurors understand an entry's craft and purpose, and it can help an entry in the judging rounds. Studio steps are not scored on their own, and an entry without them remains eligible and is judged on the finished work and statement.
6.6Studio steps and notes appear on your public entry page (section 7). For exhibited works, we show them beside the work at the exhibition, as prints or on screen, and may use them in the catalogue and in Making Of materials, with credit.
6.7At entry: JPEG or PNG, at least 1,200 pixels on the long side, under 10 MB each. Finalists and selected artists send them again at full resolution (section 5).

Your entry page, and sharing (optional)

Your entry page. Sharing is optional, and it gives your entry a boost.

7.1When you submit, we create a public entry page for you at occidentalfinearts.org/competition/e/ followed by a short code. It shows your entered images, titles, media, sizes and years, any studio steps and notes, your name, the city and region you give, and, if you choose, your social media handle, with the status "Entry received". It never shows your statements of purpose, categories, values, prices, scores or any jury information. "Entry received" means only that the entry arrived.
7.2Sharing is optional, and it gives your entry a boost: we feature shared entries on our Instagram accounts. More ways sharing helps will be announced. To share, after you submit, make a public post that shows at least one of your entered works, with #OccidentalPrize, a mention of @occidentalfinearts and the link to your entry page, and give us the link to your post. One post covers all your works.
7.3Any public post that anyone can see without signing in is welcome: on Instagram or another social network, a blog, a newsletter archive or your own website. Mention our account in the caption; do not tag our account or anyone else in the image unless they appear in it.
7.4If you give us a link, we may check it with software, which visits the link to confirm the post is public, and by hand where needed. Removing a post later does not affect your entry.
7.5Sharing is never required. The number of posts, likes, comments, shares, followers or views plays no part in choosing the exhibited works or the jury awards. The People's Choice Award is decided only by votes cast on our site and at the exhibition (section 10).
7.6Your entry page stays online until the exhibition closes and may stay afterward as part of the Competition archive unless you ask us to remove it. If you withdraw or are disqualified, we remove it. We may hold back any image from the public page that is unsuitable for a general audience or that a person shown asks us to remove; this does not affect judging.
7.7The Competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram, Meta or any other social network. By entering, you release Instagram, Meta and every other social network you use from any liability relating to the Competition. Your post must follow the rules of the service where you post it.

Painted by hand: artificial intelligence

Painted by hand, without using AI-generated images. Life, photographs and imagination are all fine.

8.1Painted by hand, without using AI-generated images. Paint from life, from photographs, or from your imagination; just no AI-generated images or references.
8.2No part of the image may come from AI: no AI-generated images used as references, guides, projections, tracings or underpaintings, and no AI-generated elements in the finished work.
8.3AI-generated and AI-partnered work isn't eligible here.
8.4For each work, you confirm that you painted it by hand, without using AI-generated images.
8.5Translation and spell-checking tools may be used for the statement and process note.
8.6A false confirmation that comes to light (for example, a work painted from an AI-generated image) may lead to disqualification, and any prize or purchase is returned. We may ask any entrant for process photos, references or sketches.

Judging

Three independent jurors. Round one is blind and scores craft. Winners are chosen in front of the real works.

9.1We use software, including AI tools, to help organize entries, check eligibility, image quality and shared posts, find duplicates, flag possible rule problems, and give staff an advisory first reading of each entry. People review every flag and make every decision. No entry is rejected by software alone.
9.2Round 1 (online, blind): jurors score craft from the images of the finished work alone, without names, statements or studio steps.
9.3Round 2 (online): jurors see the highest-rated entries again with the statement of purpose and any studio steps, and select 50 to 100 works for the exhibition, depending on the quality of the work. Weights: craft 50, purpose as visible in the work itself 30, connection 20. Purpose is read broadly; no subject, belief or viewpoint is required or excluded, and an entry is never marked down for its subject or the artist's background.
9.4Round 3 (in person): the jury chooses the jury award winners in front of the original works in Seattle. The Emerging Artist Award is chosen in this round, with the same scoring, from exhibited works by artists who declared themselves emerging.
9.5Because entry pages and posts are public, Round 1 is blind within our judging system: jurors see no names there and agree not to look up entries during judging. We cannot promise that a juror has never seen a work before.
9.6The jury is three independent jurors from the figurative art world, announced this winter, invited and paid by the Foundation. They judge every round and choose the exhibited works and the jury award winners; the Foundation confirms the awards before they are announced. Jurors declare and step aside from any entry by a student, teacher, relative, close colleague or artist they represent.
9.7The jury may decline to give an award if no entry meets the standard, and the Foundation may then move that amount to another award listed here.
9.8Entrants will not receive individual scores or feedback.

Prizes and People's Choice

$50,000 in cash prizes chosen by the jury, plus a People's Choice award voted by visitors. One award per artist.

10.1Total cash prizes: $50,000 (U.S. dollars). Chosen by the jury: Grand Prize $25,000; Rehumanism Award $10,000; Portrait Award $5,000; Open Award $5,000; Emerging Artist Award $2,500. Chosen by visitors: People's Choice Award $2,500.
10.2People's Choice: every exhibited work is eligible. Anyone may vote for free on the Competition site from April 19 to June 23, 2027, after confirming an email address, and visitors to the exhibition may vote with a one-time ballot code from May 13 to June 23, 2027. Each confirmed email address may vote once online, and each visitor once per visit at the exhibition, for one work each time; no ID is needed. Every vote counts the same.
10.3People's Choice fairness: artists may ask people to vote, but no one may offer or accept money, gifts, discounts or vote swaps for votes, or use bots, scripts, disposable or duplicate email addresses, or other tools to inflate votes. We may remove any vote we reasonably believe is not genuine. If a work benefits from votes like these, we remove them, and if the artist took part, the work is removed from the People's Choice and the artist may be disqualified. Our count is final; we will publish the totals for the top ten works.
10.4One work can win only one award, and one artist can win only one award. If the People's Choice winner has already won a jury award, the People's Choice Award goes to the work with the most votes by another artist. The Collector's Purchase (section 11) is not an award and does not count toward this limit.
10.5Honorarium: each artist whose work is selected for the exhibition receives an honorarium of $100 to $250 (U.S. dollars), depending on the size of the work, to help with the cost of shipping it, in addition to any prize.
10.6Prizes are not acquisitions. Winners keep ownership of their work and their copyright.
10.7Prizes are paid in U.S. dollars within 30 days of the awards evening (for People's Choice, within 30 days of June 26, 2027), by bank transfer or check, after the winner returns a signed winner declaration and tax form (IRS Form W-9 for U.S. persons, or W-8BEN for others).
10.8Winners are responsible for any taxes. We report prizes as the law requires and withhold where required, for example U.S. withholding on prizes paid to non-U.S. persons unless a tax treaty applies. Currency conversion and bank fees on the winner's side are the winner's cost.
10.9Prizes cannot be transferred. If a winner is found ineligible, or does not return the required forms within 60 days of being asked, the prize may be forfeited and given to another exhibited artist.

Collector's Purchase and acquisition offers

The Foundation buys at least one exhibited work at your asking price, up to a cap, with no commission.

11.1Separately from, and in addition to, the $50,000 in cash prizes, the Conru Art Foundation commits to buy at least one exhibited work for its permanent collection.
11.2Andrew Conru, founder of the Foundation, chooses the work from the exhibited works offered for sale, after hearing from the jury. It may be a work that also wins a cash award.
11.3The Foundation pays the asking price you gave on the entry form, up to $20,000 per work. If the chosen work is priced above the cap, we may offer to buy it at the cap; you are free to say no, and we will then choose another work. If no exhibited work is offered for sale, or no artist accepts, there may be no purchase.
11.4The purchase is announced at the awards evening on May 13, 2027. The work stays on view until the exhibition closes. We pay within 30 days of June 26, 2027, take no commission, and keep the work in Seattle, so its return arrangements are cancelled and any unused prepaid return is yours to reclaim from the carrier.
11.5The Foundation may buy more than one work. You keep the copyright. As owner, the Foundation may display, lend, photograph and reproduce the work for collection, exhibition, educational and promotional purposes, always with credit to you.
11.6Acquisition offers: Works marked for sale may be offered for acquisition by the Foundation or by collectors, at the listed price. Accepting is always your choice, and sales never affect judging.
11.7Offers before the exhibition: for each work marked for sale, the entry form asks whether you are open to an offer at your price before the exhibition. The answer is No unless you choose Yes, and you can change it until an offer is made. From entry until April 16, 2027, the Foundation, or a collector through the Foundation, may offer in writing to buy a work marked Yes at the asking price shown on the entry form when the offer is made. Offers are never made below that price.
11.8An offer stays open for 7 days. You may accept or decline, and declining has no effect on judging. If you accept, the price is fixed and is paid in full within 30 days. When the buyer is the Foundation, it takes no commission and pays to pack, ship and insure the work to Seattle.
11.9A work sold under an offer before the exhibition is withdrawn from the Competition when the sale is agreed: it is not judged further and is not eligible for selection, the exhibition, any cash award, People's Choice or the Collector's Purchase. A sale is not a prize and does not count toward the one-cash-award limit. If the buyer is the Foundation, it may include the work, with credit, in the book and its own collection displays.
11.10Your other entries stay in the Competition and are judged as usual. If the sale is agreed before the entry deadline, you may enter another work in its place. Jurors are not told about offers, sales or opt-in choices, an offer is not a jury decision or a sign of one, and no juror judges a work on which they have made or arranged an offer while it is open.

Delivery, packing and return of selected works

Selected artists ship both ways and insure the work in transit. Arrange the return before you send it. The honorarium helps.

12.1Selected artists pay to ship their work both ways. The Foundation pays no shipping, crating, insurance in transit, customs or brokerage costs; the honorarium in section 10 is meant to help with them.
12.2Selected works are delivered to the ArtLove Salon, 110 Union Street, 5th Floor, Seattle, WA 98101, where they are received and stored until the Foundation moves them to the Colisevm for the exhibition. We receive during the Salon's hours, Tuesday to Saturday, 12 to 4 PM. Ship for delivery from Tuesday, April 20 to Saturday, May 1, 2027, and give us the tracking number on your entry page.
12.3Return is arranged and paid for before the work is sent. Each work must arrive with one of: (a) a prepaid return shipping label (FedEx, UPS or USPS) for the same box or crate, printed and placed inside in an envelope marked RETURN, with the weight and size the label was bought for; or (b) a confirmed booking with a fine-art shipper to collect the work at the ArtLove Salon from Tuesday, July 6 to Saturday, July 10, 2027, during its hours, with the booking confirmation inside the box and emailed to us by June 11, 2027. Works that arrive without return arrangements are held until the artist provides them (see below).
12.4You may instead deliver in person at the ArtLove Salon from April 20 to May 1, 2027, and collect in person there from July 6 to July 10, 2027, by appointment during its hours (book the time on your entry page). Anyone collecting for you needs your written authorization.
12.5Packing: ship in a wooden crate or a sturdy, double-wall box that can be reused for the return, packed so that it can be repacked the same way. No packing peanuts or loose fill; recyclable paper padding is allowed if it is packed firmly so the work cannot shift. Wrap the work in glassine or plastic that does not touch wet or tacky paint, protect corners with corner guards or foam, and include a photo or note of how it was packed. Use screws, not nails, on crates.
12.6Ready to hang: two-dimensional works must be dry, framed or finished on the edges, and fitted with D-rings and picture wire; no sawtooth hangers, clips or easel backs. Use acrylic glazing, not glass.
12.7Labeling: put your name, the title, your entry code and your return address on the back of the work and on the outside of the box, and include an inventory of everything in the box.
12.8Insure your work in transit both ways; the Foundation does not insure works in transit and is not responsible for damage or loss in transit, including damage caused by inadequate packing. We note any visible damage on arrival and tell you within two business days.
12.9Works that cannot be returned because return arrangements are missing, unusable or not collected may be stored at the artist's cost of $25 per week from July 11, 2027. Works not collected and not covered by return arrangements by October 31, 2027, after at least two written notices, may be treated as abandoned, to the extent the law allows.

The exhibition, sales and care of works

50 to 100 works at the Colisevm, each artist paid an honorarium of $100 to $250 by the size of the work. We insure them while in our care, and take no commission on sales.

13.1The jury selects 50 to 100 works, depending on the quality of the work, for the exhibition at the Colisevm, the 1916 Coliseum Theatre at Fifth and Pike, Seattle. Each selected artist receives an honorarium of $100 to $250, depending on the size of the work, to help with shipping. We decide the hanging and may show studio steps, statements, labels and QR codes with each work.
13.2We insure selected works against loss and damage while they are in our care, from unpacking at the ArtLove Salon, through storage there and the move to the Colisevm, to repacking for return, at the lower of the value given on the entry form and the asking price, up to $25,000 per work.
13.3If a work is sold during the exhibition, the Foundation takes no commission. We put buyer and artist in touch; the sale is between them unless the work is the Collector's Purchase. Sold works stay on view until June 26, 2027, and the buyer collects or ships them at the buyer's cost after the exhibition closes, or the artist's return arrangements are used if both agree.
13.4Artists do not need to attend the awards evening to win, but are warmly invited. Travel is at the artist's own cost.
13.5We may photograph and film the exhibition and the awards evening, and use the results as described in section 14.

Your rights and our license

You keep your copyright. We may show your entry, with credit, to run and promote the prize and in the book.

14.1You keep the copyright in your work, statement, studio steps and notes.
14.2By entering, you give the Foundation a free, non-exclusive license to use your images, statement, studio steps and notes to run and judge the Competition, and to show your entry images, titles, name and process material on your public entry page (section 7) and in previews of it when it is shared.
14.3Book: the Foundation plans to publish a book from the entries, in print and digital form, like the Seattle Prize Year One books. By entering, you allow the Foundation to reproduce your entered images, studio steps and notes, titles, name and statement of purpose in that book and in its promotion, with credit and without fee. Inclusion is at the Foundation's choice. Copies may be sold to cover costs; you will be offered a copy at no charge if your work appears in it.
14.4If your work is selected for the exhibition, you also give the Foundation a free, non-exclusive, worldwide license to reproduce your images, studio steps, statement, name and short biography, with credit, to promote the Competition, its exhibition and future editions, the Occidental Fine Arts Center and the Conru Art Foundation, in print, online, on social media, in the press, in the catalogue and in Making Of materials, without time limit.
14.5We will not sell merchandise or prints of your work without a separate written agreement with you.
14.6You promise that the work, statement and process material are your own; that you have the rights to everything you used to make them, including references and the consent of any recognizable person shown; and that entering does not break any agreement you have with anyone else, such as a gallery.

Privacy

We use your details only to run the Competition and never sell them. News only if you ask for it.

15.1We use your entry details to run the Competition, contact you about it, arrange delivery and return, and pay prizes.
15.2Your entry page is public and shows only what is listed in section 7. Your email, address, statements and prices are never shown on it.
15.3People's Choice voters' email addresses are used only to confirm and count votes, unless the voter ticks a box to receive Foundation news.
15.4We will send Foundation news only if you tick the box to receive it, and you can unsubscribe at any time. We do not sell your personal information.

General terms

Fair play, changes of plan, liability and the law that applies.

16.1We may disqualify any entry or entrant that breaks these rules, gives false information, or acts to undermine the fairness of the Competition, including harassment of jurors, staff or other entrants.
16.2We may change, suspend or cancel the Competition if something outside our reasonable control makes it impossible to run as planned. If we cancel, we will tell entrants promptly.
16.3To the extent the law allows, the Foundation is not responsible for entries that are late, lost or incomplete because of technical problems; for loss of or damage to works except while in our care as described in section 13; or for any indirect loss. Our total liability for any work is limited to the insured value in section 13.
16.4If a translation of these rules differs from the English version, the English version applies.
16.5These rules are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, USA, and any dispute will be resolved in the courts of King County, Washington, except where the law of your place of residence requires otherwise. Void where prohibited.
16.6Questions: write to the Competition team through the Occidental contact page.

How work is evaluated

The Selection Panel and the judges ask three questions in front of every painting.

How much impact does it have on anyone who sees it? Not only on experts. On a nurse coming off a night shift, a teenager on a school trip, a grandfather who hasn't been to a museum in years.
Does the viewer say: that really nailed the feeling? The moment of recognition, when a picture says something we knew and had never seen said.
What's fundamentally human about it? A gesture, a glance, a loss, a joy: the part that will still be true a hundred years from now.

Craft matters, because feeling without craft doesn't last. Craft is where the judging starts, not where it ends.

Questions

Is it really free?

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.

Who can enter?

U.S. citizens 18 or older, wherever they live. We plan to open future years more widely.

When can I enter?

Entries open on November 5, 2026 and close on March 31, 2027 at 11:59 pm Pacific. You can edit your entry until the deadline.

Can I enter older work, or work shown elsewhere?

Paintings only, made in 2024 or later. Within that, work shown before, entered in other competitions or even awarded elsewhere is fine. It must be yours, finished, handmade and available to exhibit if selected.

Can I use AI?

No. Works must be painted by hand, without using AI-generated images. Paint from life, from photographs, or from your imagination; just no AI-generated images or references. If you paint with AI as a partner, our separate competition is for you.

Do I keep my copyright?

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.

Can I sell my work at the show?

Yes, with no commission to the Foundation. You don't have to sell: works marked Not for sale are judged exactly the same.

What counts as an emerging artist?

You are 35 or under on March 31, 2027, or you first showed your work in public in 2022 or later.

How does People's Choice work?

Anyone can vote online for one exhibited work, and visitors can vote at the show; the work with the most votes wins.

Why are you starting this prize?

For thirty years I built social networking sites. Over the last ten, we've all watched dialogue break down: polarization, and people who no longer talk across their differences. There's a word for where that leads: dehumanization. It means seeing the person on the other side only as “other”, until we stop seeing them as a person like us. Rehumanism is the answer we want to try. Art that people from every side can love, art of beauty, truth and love, is one way to bring us back together. It isn't elitism. It's representational art, revitalized with the viewer in mind, and it's what makes this prize different from the others.

Practical details, like photos, sizes and shipping, are explained on the entry form, right where you need them.

At a glance

Free to enter. No fee at any stage.

$50,000 in cash prizes, plus at least one work bought for the Foundation's collection.

Paintings only, made in 2024 or later. Work shown or entered elsewhere is fine.

Painted by hand, without using AI-generated images. Paint from life, from photographs or from your imagination.

Open to U.S. citizens 18 or older, wherever they live.

Up to 3 paintings per artist, each in one category.

Entries open November 5, 2026 and close March 31, 2027, 11:59 pm Pacific.

Three independent jurors, announced this winter, choose the works for the show and the jury awards.

50 to 100 works are shown at the Colisevm in downtown Seattle, May 13 to June 26, 2027. Each selected artist receives an honorarium of $100 to $250, depending on the size of the work, to help with shipping.

This is a summary. The full rules below govern.