On 22 October, the NEAC will host a day of events to mark its 140th birthday. We hope the day will help raise funds to support our charitable activities so we can continue to support artists and champion quality figurative painting and drawing for another 140 years!
You can support us in an affordable way by buying tickets to our birthday celebrations, signing up as a Friend of the NEAC, or by making a donation. And we are always delighted to hear from donors and sponsors who might be interested in sponsoring one of our many initiatives, which include:
The NEAC Scholarships
The three annual art scholarships, worth £7,000 in total, are aimed at individuals who have not historically had many opportunities to engage with the NEAC and are intended to support those who face financial barriers in pursuing the arts professionally. In an art education landscape where many traditional art schools have pivoted away from practice and skills, these scholarships offer a rare opportunity to draw on the experience and expertise of some of the best painters in the country.
PRIZES & AWARDS (INCLUDING THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY PRIZES)
Every year at our Annual Exhibition, we award prizes worth in the region of £10,000. Notably, the NEAC Climate Emergency Prizes are about to enter their third year. After an extraordinary summer of heatwaves, wildfires, drought, and the devastating glacier collapse in Tibet, the sense of urgency continues to grow. We created this prize so our art is relevant to arguably the most important crisis humanity has ever faced. It also rewards brave artists who feel they must respond to this despite it not being the most commercial of subjects. We should support them and reward the best. But that requires new sponsorship to keep these prizes going.
A NEW OPEN ART COMPETITION FOR FIGURATIVE PAINTING BASED ON LOOKING AND OBSERVING THE WORLD AROUND US
Ever since the demise of the Threadneedle and Lynn Painter-Stainers Prizes, there has been a gap in the painting prize landscape for an award that reflects the values of the NEAC. We plan to put this right with a new prize called “Painting From Life”. The judges will all be artists, including Past NEAC President Peter Brown. The others are still to be announced, but they will all be leading painters working closely from direct contact with the visual world. We are very excited about this new project but we urgently need sponsorship for its start-up costs and especially for its prizes.
Back to Our Fundraising DaY
We would love you to join us to enjoy our events and hospitality on 22 October. Profits from ticket sales will help support our charitable aims. And do consider bidding on a painting (or two) at our auction.
But if you are unable to attend, please consider supporting us with a donation or by signing up as a Friend. And if you are interested in sponsoring one of our prizes or initiatives outlined above, do get in touch.
Thank you,
Patrick Cullen, NEAC President