Galway photographer shortlisted for AIB Portrait Prize at National Gallery of Ireland
The work of a Galway photographer has been selected to feature at the National Gallery of Ireland as part of a €20,000 prize competition.
Galway native Enda Burke is among the 25 artists shortlisted for the AIB Portrait Prize with the National Gallery of Ireland.
The AIB Portrait Prize shortlist includes paintings, video, pastel, mixed media and photography by artists from across the country.
Enda’s photo Dad and Elvis and the other shortlisted works will be on display in the Portrait Gallery room at the National Gallery in Dublin from November 14 to March 14, 2027.
Dad and Elvis captures his father alongside a young lamb to examine masculinity beyond traditional ideals of toughness, Mr Burke told the Irish Independent. Combining biblical symbolism with vibrant color, the piece explores how vulnerability, affection, and strength can coexist without contradiction. By focusing on his immediate surroundings, Enda highlights the humor, wonder, and quiet intimacy hidden within the familiar.
The exhibition will then travel to the Galway Arts Centre from April 3 to June 27, 2027, and to the Limerick City Gallery of Art from July 9 to August 15, 2027.
“Having my work exhibited at our National Gallery is a privilege, this selection carries more weight because the portrait is of my father. I am particularly looking forward to April, when the exhibition travels to Galway where I am from and live,” Enda said.
The winner of the AIB Portrait Prize will receive a cash prize of €15,000 and will be commissioned to create a work for the National Portrait Collection, for which they will be awarded a further €5,000. Two additional awards of €1,500 will be given to highly commended works.
Judges are Dr Brian Fay, artist and lecturer at TU Dublin; Christina Kennedy, Senior Curator, Head of Collections at the Irish Museum of Modern Art; and Dr Joseph McBrinn, Art Historian and Lecturer at Belfast School of Art.
After hundreds of entries to the competition, Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said: “Watching entries arrive is a highlight of our year, and the shortlist this year demonstrates an incredible breadth of Irish artistic talent.”
A competition is also running for young artists. The AIB Young Portrait Prize showcases the artistic talent of young people aged 18 and under. Category winners will receive a bespoke art box and a cash prize.