Organizer Information:

The FiKVA Foundation hosts this annual global online competition to provide representational and figurative painters with international recognition, global exposure, and financial rewards.

Title & Description:

Applications opened in December 2025 for the 4th International FiKVA Award for Representational & Figurative Painters.

The competition seeks the best paintings produced in the last two years (2024–2026). The FiKVA Award welcomes all styles of representational painting—including modern and classical realism, imaginative realism, hyperrealism, photorealism, luminism, and surrealism. The goal is to celebrate artwork that captures the essence of the real world while reflecting the artist's unique voice.

Category:

Painting.

(Accepted media: Traditional wet mediums such as oil, water-soluble oil, acrylic, watercolor, ink, gouache, and tempera on any handmade support. Exclusions: No digital, mechanical, airbrush, comic, stylized, or abstract works are accepted).

Eligibility:

  • Who: Individual painters aged 18 and older.
  • Scope: International / Worldwide.
  • Artwork Requirements: Works must be original, solely produced by the artist, and created between 2024 and 2026. Works do not need to be available for sale, and they physically stay with the artist (no shipping required).

Program Benefits & Awards:

  • 1st Prize: €3,500 cash, an M. Graham art supplies package (€300 value), digital marketing (€300 value), an interview, and a 6-month online gallery representation.
  • 2nd Prize: €1,500 cash, digital marketing, an interview, and 6-month online gallery representation.
  • 3rd Prize: €500 cash, digital marketing, an interview, and 6-month online gallery representation.
  • Purchase Prize: Potential acquisition of one artwork for the FiKVA Collection.
  • Additional Awards: Honorable Mentions, Top 35 Online Exhibition participation, and potential Gallery Representation Prizes for up to 10 artists from the Top 100.

Application Fee:

  • €36 for 1 artwork.
  • €16 for each additional artwork (up to a maximum of 5 works total).

Application Requirements:

Artists must submit high-quality JPG or PNG images of their work (minimum 1000 pixels wide, max 4MB). Files must follow a strict naming convention: Artist Name_Artwork Title_Material_Size_Year of production. Do not include frames in the image.

How to Apply?

Submit your information, images, and fee via the official FiKVA submission form (portal opens December 3, 2025).

Key Dates:

  • Submissions Open: December 3, 2025.
  • Application Deadline: April 22, 2026 (12:00 PM Brussels Time).
  • Top 100 Announcement: June 2, 2026.
  • Winners Announcement: June 11, 2026.
  • Online Exhibition Launch: June 20, 2026.

Location:

Online / Virtual.

Contact Information:

Email: award@fikva.art

Website: https://fikva.art/open-call/