The Ferry Building Gallery Portrait Award – Call for Entry
April 10 - October 23
The Ferry Building Gallery invites artists to apply for the Ferry Building Gallery Portrait Award, a new juried exhibition and awards program celebrating excellence and innovation in portraiture across the North Shore and surrounding regions.
A compelling portrait goes beyond likeness. It captures the essence of its subject while revealing the artist’s skill, sensitivity, and creative voice. Through light, composition, and expression, portraiture becomes an act of storytelling—one that invites viewers to connect with another human presence across time and culture. At its best, a portrait preserves a moment while illuminating something universal about the human experience.
Portraiture offers a uniquely accessible entry point into visual art, inviting viewers to explore identity, humanity, and contemporary social narratives.
The Ferry Building Gallery Portrait Award brings together emerging and established local artists to present a professionally curated exhibition culminating in an awards presentation and community celebration.
The competition will be judged over two rounds. The first round entries are to be submitted digitally through the SlideRoom application; selected artists will be invited to submit their work for in-person judging (second round).
Timeline
Applications open: Friday, April 10
Application deadline: Friday, July 31
Round 2 in-person jury: Sunday, August 23
Ferry Building Gallery Exhibition of finalists: October 7–November 1
Exhibition opening reception: Thursday, October 8
Prizes announcement and gala event: Friday October 23
Artist Eligibility
Artists must reside (or have resided in the past) on the North Shore, Sea-to-Sky corridor, Bowen Island, Sunshine Coast or Gulf Islands.
Artists must be over the age of 18 (at the time of submitting).
Artwork Eligibility
1. Up to three entries per artist.
2. For the purposes of the Competition, “portrait” shall be interpreted to mean a painting or drawing of a specific person or persons. Group portraits and self-portraits are acceptable.
3. The artwork must be a painting or drawing, or a combination of both.
4. The portrait must depict a person (or persons) known to the artist, with explicit consent granted for their likeness to be used. Artists may work from photographs, provided the photographs were taken by the artist with the full consent of the subject, or their legal guardian.
5. The work must be a two-dimensional portrait and comply with the following size requirements:
Minimum size: 10” (height) x 8” (width) framed
Maximum size: 40” x 40” framed
No work or frame may exceed 4” in depth
6. No multiple-part works (i.e. diptychs or triptychs) will be accepted.
7. Artwork must have been produced in 2025 or 2026.
8. The entrant may not sign or write their name on the work, including the back. All works will be judged anonymously and any work that is signed or contains any marking identifying the entrant may be disqualified. Selected works may be signed after the Portrait Award winner has been announced.
9. No AI generated portraits are allowed.
Round 1: Competition Entry Procedures
All entries will be accepted online only via the Slideroom website. Application materials are the following:
A completed online entry form.
One high resolution photo (between 1MB and 4MB) as a .jpg file for each portrait submitted. Please note that the first round of judging will be done digitally. It is therefore important that the photograph(s) uploaded is of the highest quality and portrays the portrait realistically.
Receipt number for the entry fee of $45. To pay the entry fee, register by phone at 604-925-7270 (Course #219461) or online here.
Entries will close on Friday, July 31.
Round 2: Selection of Finalists
1. The jury will select the finalists who will be notified by email.
2. Finalists must bring their artwork for an in-person jury at the Music Box, 1654 Argyle Avenue, West Vancouver, on Sunday, August 23.
Artwork drop-off: 8:30–10:30 a.m.
Artwork collection: 3–4 p.m.
3. Entrants must adhere strictly to the above dates and times when delivering and collecting artwork at the Music Box. No exceptions will be made.
4. Responsibility for loss or damage, however caused, remains with the entrant. Entrants are therefore advised to arrange adequate insurance coverage. The Ferry Building Gallery is not liable for any loss or damage.
5. The judges will select the final 20 artworks from those juried in person at the Music Box.
6. Entrants whose works are selected will be notified by email and instructed to deliver their artwork to the gallery in early October in preparation for the exhibition and gala event.
The Portrait Award Exhibition and Evening Celebration
1. The finalists’ artworks will be exhibited at the Ferry Building Gallery from October 7 to November 1.
2. Runner up artworks will be exhibited at the West Vancouver Memorial Library and the West Vancouver District Hall.
3. Finalist artworks must be delivered to the gallery on October 5 and collected on November 2.
4. The exhibition will include an opening reception, free and open to the public, on Thursday, October 8 from 6 to 8 p.m.
5. All final artworks included in the exhibition must be for sale through the Ferry Building Gallery at market-related prices. Entrants must provide a selling price for each work. The gallery will deduct a 30% commission on all sales.
6. The winners of the First, Second, and Third Prizes, as well as the People’s Choice Award, will be announced at the Portrait Gala, to be held on Friday, October 23 at the Ferry Building Gallery.
7. Prizes:
First Place: $1,000
Second Place: $500
Third Place: $250
People’s Choice: $250
8. The Gala will be a ticketed event. Each finalist will receive one complimentary ticket and one half-price ticket.