AOIBHINN McDermott, a 17-year-old artist from Malin Head has been shortlisted for the AIB Young Portrait Prize for her video portrait titled ‘What I’m Really Reaching For.’
She stands alongside nineteen other young artists from Donegal to Cork in the shortlist announced by the National Gallery of Ireland. The AIB Portrait Prize and Young Portrait Prize shortlist includes paintings, video, pastel, mixed media and photography by artists from across the country.
The AIB Young Portrait Prize showcases the artistic talent of young people aged eighteen and under. There are four categories for each age range that begin at 6 and under, and continue to 7–11, 12–15, and 16–18. This year, the competition received hundreds of entries and the winner will be selected from the shortlist.
Category winners will receive a bespoke art box and a cash prize. The overall competition winner will be awarded a personalised wooden box of high-quality art materials and a cash prize of €500. This year’s AIB Young Portrait Prize judges are Amanda Coogan, artist; Carl Hickey, artist; and Donna Rose, Curator at the National Museum of Ireland.
Aoibhinn McDermott (Age 17), ‘What I’m Really Reaching For’
The exhibition of the shortlisted portraits in both competitions will be on display in the Portrait Gallery (Room 23) at the National Gallery of Ireland from 14 November 2026 – 14 March 2027.
Following their display at the National Gallery of Ireland, the exhibitions will travel to Galway Arts Centre from 3 April to 27 June 2027, and to Limerick City Gallery of Art from 9 July to 15 August 2027
Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said: “We are proud to be working with AIB on the annual AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize again in 2026. Watching entries arrive is a highlight of our year, and the shortlist this year demonstrates an incredible breadth of Irish artistic talent. We look forward to the exhibitions later this year at the Gallery and next year in the Galway Arts Centre and the Limerick City Gallery of Art.”
Colin Hunt, Chief Executive Officer at AIB, also commented, “We are delighted to share the shortlist for the 2026 AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize. These portraits demonstrate the wonderful creativity of portrait artists of all ages in communities across the country, and we are thrilled to see such a strong selection of works once again in this year’s shortlists. AIB is proud to continue its sponsorship of these exciting competitions at the National Gallery of Ireland.”
The winners of the Prizes will be announced at a ceremony held in the National Gallery of Ireland on 2 December 2026.