Last chance to register for John Moores Painting Prize 2012

THE last chance to register for the UK’s biggest painting prize, John Moores Painting Prize 2012, is Friday, 20 January 2012.

With a first prize of £25,000 along with four further prizes, each of £2,500, this is the biggest painting prize in the UK. In addition, the winner of the popular Visitors' Choice prize of £2,012, will be announced towards the close of the John Moores Painting Prize exhibition.

The judging will take place throughout 2012 and will result in an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery which runs from 15 September 2012 to 6 January 2013, forming a central part of the Liverpool Biennial.

Judges for this year’s competition are Fiona Banner who was born on Merseyside, director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery Iwona Blazwick, Spanish born Angela de la Cruz, a former Turner Prize 2010 nominee, Turner Prize 2011 nominee George Shaw and creative director of the BBC, Alan Yentob.

The John Moores Painting Prize is an anonymous and open submission competition available to all UK-based artists working with paint. Previous winners have included David Hockney, Peter Doig and Lisa Milroy. The 2010 First Prize was won by Keith Coventry.

The final deadline for artists to enter is 20 January 2012. Online registration can be found online via logging onto the following website:- liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/johnmoores and the winners will be announced on 13 September 2012.

Reyahn King, director of art galleries at National Museums Liverpool says:- "Not only does the John Moores Painting Prize give contemporary artists the chance to win £25,000 but it also offers the opportunity to display their work at a national gallery, the Walker Art Gallery. Uniquely it is the only art prize with a sole focus on painting, and has remained the UK's most prestigious painting award for the last 55 years."

Entries have to be original, painted within the last two years and within a set size, designed to hang on walls, and by an artist who lives, or is based, in the United Kingdom. Full conditions are on the website. Judges will see all submitted artworks and at Stage 2 view all shortlisted paintings.

First held in 1957, the John Moores Painting Prize is the UK's best-known painting competition and is named after Sir John Moores (1896 to 1993), the founder of the prize. The competition culminates in an exhibition held at the Walker Art Gallery every two years, which forms a key strand of the Liverpool Biennial.

The John Moores Painting Prize is a partnership between the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust, which continues the philanthropic work of Sir John Moores and the Walker Art Gallery. The prize remains true to its founding principles: to support artists and to bring to Liverpool the best of contemporary painting practice from across the UK.

The prize attracts a broad spectrum of artists. Works are selected anonymously from an open submission by the jury, who also award the main prizes. No preference is given to levels of experience or particular practices of painting.

Last year Keith Coventry won the £25,000 prize with his painting Spectrum Jesus. The 4 runners up were Philip Diggle; For Your Pleasure, Nick Fox; Metatopia, Nicholas Middleton; Protest, 1st April 2009 and Daniel Sturgis; Still Squallings, who each won £2,500. As well as being a runner up, Nicolas Middleton also won the Visitors’ Choice award winning £2,010.

Please note that:-

► The competition is £25 to enter.

► John Moores Painting Prize is organised in partnership with the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition Trust.

► It is supported by official hotel partner Hope Street Hotel, Liverpool and media partner a-n Magazine.

► John Moores Painting Prize is part of the Liverpool Biennial, one of the UK’s largest and most exciting contemporary visual arts events.

The 7th Liverpool Biennial International Festival of Contemporary Art, will take place from 15 September to 25 November 2012.