Organizer Information
The Pastel Society is a UK-registered charity founded in 1898, with its first exhibition held in 1899 at the Royal Institute in Piccadilly, London. Founder members and early exhibitors included Frank Brangwyn, Edgar Degas, Auguste Rodin, William Rothenstein, James McNeill Whistler, and G.F. Watts. The Society is one of nine art societies that make up the Federation of British Artists (FBA), a visual arts charity established in 1961, and it has staged its annual exhibition at Mall Galleries — a venue in Central London offering over 450 square metres of exhibition space — since joining the Federation in 1970. It currently has more than 50 members, all professional artists working in the UK and internationally, admitted through an assessment of technical skill, originality, innovation, and enthusiasm. Beyond its annual open exhibition, the Society organizes tutorial workshops, demonstrations, and lectures, and is sponsored by Caran d'Ache of Geneva.
Title & Description
Pastel Society Annual Exhibition 2027 — "Drawn To Colour"
This is the Pastel Society's 128th Annual Exhibition, open to artists working in pastel and other contemporary dry media. The 2027 edition is themed around colour, inviting artists to explore pastel, dry, and mixed media — from black and white through the full spectrum — as a shared language of expression. The exhibition brings together new open-call submissions alongside work by current Society members and is held at Mall Galleries in London, with an accompanying online presentation.
Theme
"Drawn To Colour" — colour as subject, expression, and connection, explored through pastel and other dry media (pastel, pencil, charcoal, crayon, chalk, and related mixed media).
Categories
- Drawing
- Painting
- Visual Arts
Eligibility
- Open to any artist aged 18 or over, from anywhere in the world
- Artists may enter a maximum of six works each, of which up to four per artist may be selected
- Work must be an original creation by the artist, demonstrating originality and technical skill
- Work produced under instruction (e.g. in structured workshops) or deemed derivative of/copied from another artist is not eligible
- Work must have been completed within two years prior to the exhibition
- Work must not have been previously exhibited at Mall Galleries
- Work must not exceed 2.4m along its longest dimension
- International artists (non-UK resident) are welcome to submit; those classified as Non-Established Taxable Persons (NETPs) must register with HMRC for a UK VAT number before the Receiving Day if selected, or their work may be withdrawn
Program Benefits & Awards
- Inclusion in the exhibition at Mall Galleries and online
- Access to prizes and awards worth over £5,000 in total, including:
- Caran d'Ache Prize — £1,000 for best work in the exhibition
- Pastel Society Prize — £1,000 for best work by a member
- The Yoshimoto Prize — £1,000 for an outstanding work in any dry medium by a non-member
- The President's Prize — £500 for best work by an artist aged 35 or under
- The Bob Last Prize — £400
- Caran d'Ache Product Prize (in-kind)
- Daler-Rowney Prize — £1,000 in art materials (£500 to a member, £500 to a non-member)
- Frank Herring Award, Henri Roche Award, Mamut Award, Pith Sketchbook Award, UART Award, Unison Member Award, Unison Non-member Award, Unison Young Artist Award (in-kind product prizes)
- Visitors' Choice Award — a set of Caran d'Ache pastel pencils
- West Design Award
- Painters Online Award — an interview published in Leisure Painter & The Artist
- Pastel Society Catalogue Awards (First and Second Prize) — winning works illustrated in the exhibition catalogue
- Mall Galleries / FBA Award — ten free submissions to Federation of British Artists exhibitions at Mall Galleries (worth up to £220), for a non-member exhibitor
- Invitation to the Private View
- Opportunity to sell work to new collectors (see Additional Details for commission terms)
- Access to a network of exhibiting artists dating back to 1898
- Possibility of election to Society membership
- Free admission to the exhibition is included with the submission fee (normally £7)
- A free Artist Resource Pack (a PDF guide and video masterclass on selling art via Instagram), provided in partnership with the Visual Artists Association, sent upon notification of selection
Application Fee
Non-refundable submission fee of £22 per work, or £14.50 per work for artists aged 35 or under. This fee includes free admission to the exhibition (normally £7). Fees support the not-for-profit programme of the Federation of British Artists (Registered Charity Number 200048), which Mall Galleries is home to.
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 20 November 2026
- Notification of selection: 4 December 2026
- Receiving Day (if selected): 16 January 2027
- Exhibition opens: 27 January 2027
- Private View (invite only): 27 January 2027
- Exhibition closes: 6 February 2027
- Collection of unsold work: 11 February 2027
Location
Terrace, London, United Kingdom
Additional Details
- All work must be for sale; minimum price per work is £400
- Gallery commission on sales is 45% + VAT; the submitted price must be the final selling price inclusive of commission (and inclusive of VAT if the artist is VAT-registered)
- Prices may only be changed by written agreement between the artist and Mall Galleries
- A sale made by the gallery before or during the exhibition (up to and including the collection day) takes precedence over a private sale made in the same period; private sales in this window incur the standard commission
- Works must be framed with picture glass unless there is a genuine aesthetic or technical reason to leave them unframed (declared at submission); Perspex/acrylic glazing is permitted only for works arriving from abroad or large works in frames exceeding 100cm; metal frames, unprotected glass edges, and clip frames are not accepted; all backing fixtures (e.g. D-rings, picture wire) must be removed before delivery, as works are mirror-plated for hanging
- Selection is made entirely online by a committee of Society members, based on submitted images; the decision is final and no feedback is offered
- The Society reserves the right to refuse a selected work that arrives late, differs substantially from its submitted image, or is poorly framed
- Artists are responsible for delivery and collection costs and logistics; the gallery provides a list of recommended regional and international art couriers, though the gallery accepts no liability for courier services
- Uncollected works are removed after the collection day and stored at the artist's expense; if not collected within 12 months of the collection day, the gallery may destroy, sell, or dispose of the work without consent or compensation
- Prize-winning works are selected in time for the awards ceremony at the Private View