Organizer Information
The Art Circle (TAC) is a UAE-based art organization that organizes an annual award designed to support and promote the local visual arts scene. The award provides artists with an opportunity to present their work to a professional jury composed of art and culture specialists, including institution directors, curators, and collectors. Through the award and accompanying exhibition, TAC aims to increase visibility for participating artists among cultural leaders and the wider art community. The 2026 sixth edition is supported by Alserkal.
Title & Description
Art Circle Award 2026
The Art Circle Award 2026 — Sixth Edition, Theme: “On Mending” invites artists to explore the idea of mending in response to a world experiencing ongoing forms of personal, social, political, and environmental rupture. The organizers ask what it means to mend a city, body, community, or planet when the process of breaking is still taking place.
Artists may interpret the theme literally, conceptually, or abstractly. The concept of mending is presented not simply as restoration or repair, but as an act that acknowledges wounds and continues to create meaning through them. Artists are encouraged to explore ideas of scars, fragments, continuity, resistance, and transformation through painting, texture, layering, and material experimentation.
Each participant may submit one completed artwork. The winning work will receive AED 20,000 and become part of The Art Circle Collection. Finalists' works will be presented in the 2026 exhibition in Dubai.
Categories
- Visual Art
- Painting
- Mixed Media
- Traditional and contemporary pictorial techniques
- Digital techniques are not accepted
- Mixed-media works are permitted, but painting must remain the primary focus.
Eligibility
The competition is open to UAE nationals and UAE residents, aged 18 or older, including both men and women. Previous winners of The Art Circle Award are not eligible for the 2026 edition.
Artists may submit only one artwork, and the submitted work must not previously have won an award in another competition. The artwork must already be completed and ready for submission.
Program Benefits & Awards
The selected winner will receive a cash prize of AED 20,000. The winning artwork will become part of The Art Circle Collection.
Finalists will have their artworks included in the Art Circle Award 2026 exhibition in Dubai and will receive a certificate of participation and social media coverage. The winning artwork will also be reproduced as limited-edition Giclée prints, signed and numbered by the artist, for distribution to art professionals, institutional directors, artists, and collectors through TAC's 2027 collaborations and exchanges.
Finalists must loan their artworks to TAC free of charge for two months following the jury's decision. Finalists are required to attend the exhibition opening; the winner must be present or will forfeit the award.
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 10 September 2026
- Shortlisted Artists Notified: By October 16, 2026
- Physical Artwork Assessment: After shortlist notification; artists are responsible for delivering their original works to designated locations in Abu Dhabi or Dubai.
- Exhibition: Dubai; exact date to be announced.
- Winner Announcement: At the exhibition opening.
- Artwork Loan: Finalist works must remain with TAC for two months following the jury's decision.
Location
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Additional Details
Artwork must measure between 40 cm and 80 cm on each side and must be framed in a simple wooden American-style frame no more than 3 cm wide, without glass or Plexiglas. The artist's name, surname, and artwork title must be written on the back, and the work may only be signed on the back.
The jury will evaluate submissions according to conceptual strength, composition and design, material and technique, originality, and expression. Artists are responsible for wrapping, delivering, collecting, and transporting their works. TAC states that although it will take care in handling the artworks, it is not liable for damage occurring during transportation or exhibition.
The winner transfers ownership of the winning artwork to TAC. TAC may use the work for marketing purposes with artist credit and may produce limited-edition Giclée prints. Any further reproduction, distribution, or exhibition requires written artist approval.