The Occidental Prize · Talks
Alongside the Prize, we're starting a series of public talks on art, connection and warmth: relaxed evenings in Seattle for anyone who loves paintings. We would love you to give one.

You don't need to be famous or an academic. Painters, teachers, nurses, historians and collectors are all welcome: bring something true and generous to say about art.
Proposed topics · speakers and dates to be announced
Gesture, glance and the moment chosen: how one picture holds a whole story.
What each gives a painter, and what each can take away.
How light that falls the way light really falls makes a picture feel true.
Where AI helps a painter, where it gets in the way, and where the line is.
Galleries, commissions, competitions and community: making a living from the work.
Why some pictures stop us, and how a painter can reach for that.
These are starting points, not limits. If your idea serves the same spirit, propose it.
A talk series with several speakers is planned. The speakers and dates will be announced. Propose a talk and we will be in touch.
Tell us your idea in a few lines. There is no fee to propose, and a rough idea is fine: we are happy to help shape it.