Annual Wexford Lion’s Club Exhibition 2026
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
We are delighted to announce that submissions for our Annual Open Submission Exhibition in association with Wexford Lions Club is now open and canvases and watercolour boards are now available to purchase at Wexford Arts Centre Box Office. We invite submissions from local artists and anyone with an interest in art regardless of their level of skill or previous experience.
The Annual Wexford Lions Club Exhibition celebrates local talent and offers a platform for artists who are at various stages of their careers as well as those with an interest in art who wish to see their work realised within a gallery context. For this reason, it is an important show within the Wexford Arts Centre’s visual art programme. The Exhibition will be on view in the lower and upper galleries of Wexford Arts Centre from Saturday 10th January 2026 – Thursday 5th February and will officially open on Saturday 10th January 2026.
As a result of the tremendous success of previous years exhibitions and the remarkably high-quality work received, the theme for the 2026 Lions Club exhibition has been left open. The open brief allows participants the freedom to create exciting and original artwork, and to tell their own stories. These stories or experiences can were related through a varied range of subjects such as urban and rural narratives, abstraction and even pure imagination.
In our upper gallery we will feature the work of young, budding artists. Children and young adults were encouraged to experiment with all types of mediums and objects – paints, glitter, buttons, transfers; Lego… The Perpetual Children’s Trophy was awarded to Lydon Brody-Hayes for a work Pray for Food in 2025 with showed his exceptional compositional and paint handling skills.
This year, the People’s Choice Award, will run in association with Wexford Tidy Towns, in memory of Denis Collins. Denis provided for countless writers and artists during his lifetime as a former Artistic Director of Wexford Arts Centre, gallery owner, and editor and publisher. He was also a social activist and volunteer with organisations including Wexford Tidy Towns, Fair Trade, and Amnesty International.
The People’s Choice Award is a meaningful addition within the annual Lions Club exhibition as it allows the community to select their favourite works in three categories: adult, 10 years plus, and under 10 years.
Wexford Lions Club has served the community of Wexford since 1979. This support may be monetary such as food vouchers at Christmas for families and individuals in need, or by giving their time to assist community projects such as The Trabolgan Holiday and The Message in a Bottle and the Carer’s Weekend Project.
Interested persons are asked to visit Wexford Arts Centre where canvases and watercolour boards are available to purchase and will be available for collection. Please note that places are limited, and you must purchase your canvas or watercolour board at Box Office at Wexford Arts Centre to secure your submission. This year, there are a limited number of small sized canvases available.
Applications are limited to one per person and as the number of artists participating in the exhibition is limited, applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Exhibitors must complete a submission form which will be issued upon receipt of purchase. The deadline for submission of completed works is Saturday 20th December 2025. Exhibition entry fee is €12.00 per applicant. All artworks must be submitted unframed on or before this date and on the board/canvas provided by the arts centre. Please note that we cannot accept any other canvas type.
We welcome all submissions and encourage you to consider gifting a canvas this Christmas!
Due to the limited exhibition spaces, we will not present sculptural works in the exhibition. We wish to thank all those who submitted sculptural works in the past.
Wexford Arts Centre & Wexford Lions Club would like to thank Spectrum Art & Framing, Light and Shadow Wexford, Helen McClean Wexford Tidy Towns and Wexford County Council for their ongoing and generous support of this exhibition. For further information on the exhibition please contact Visual Arts Manager, Lisa Byrne via email lisa@wexfordartscentre.ie.
ADULT AWARD WINNERS 2025
Selected by Artist & Former Curator of the Pigyard Gallery, Patricia Robinson
Sponsored by: Light & Shadow Wexford, Helen McLean, Spectrum Art & Framing, Wexford County Council, and Wexford Lions Club.
Overall: Nen Byrne, Dance to the Beat, 2025, acrylic on canvas.
Merit 1: Aoife Greenan, Cold Bus Service, 2025, oil on board.
Merit 2: Jane Prendergast, Today’s Bread, 2025, mixed media on canvas.
Merit 3: Sarah O’Connor Doyle, Where did you go?, 2025, acrylic on canvas.
Bio-diversity 1: Beata Bekalska, Forest Spring, 2025, mixed media on board.
Bio-diversity 2: Colette Doyle Rochford, Bluebell Harvest Mouse, 2025, oil on canvas.
Helen McLean Art Award: Colette Blake, Spirit of the Woods, 2025, acrylic on canvas.
CHILDREN’S AWARDS WINNERS:
Sponsored by: Light & Shadow Wexford, Helen McLean, Spectrum Art & Framing, and Wexford Lions Club.
Under 6 years: Heidi O’Hanlon, Picnic in the Park, pencil and pen on board.
7-9 years: Nessa Brady, 2025, Coco Running through the Fields, acrylic on board.
10-12 years: Amy Young, Koi Fish, 2025, acrylic on canvas.
13-15 years: Megan Ruane, Lone Puffin, 2025, mixed media on board.
16 years +: Gabija Bielyte, Loki, 2025, acrylic on board.
Highly Commended (under 10 years): Bonnie Ryan, Save the Chameleons, 2025, acrylic on board.
Highly Commended (over 10 years): Finn Stafford, Fire Beach, 2025, spray paint on board.
Perpetual Trophy: Lydon Brody-Hayes, Pray for Food, 2025, spray paint on board.
Image Credits:
Top Left: Sarah O’Connor Doyle, Where did you go?, 2025, acrylic on canvas.
Top Right: Lydon Brody-Hayes, Pray for Food, 2025, spray paint on board.
Bottom Left: Colette Doyle Rochford, Bluebell Harvest Mouse, 2025, oil on canvas.
Bottom Right: Gabija Bielyte, Loki, 2025, acrylic on board.
For further information on the exhibition please contact catherine@wexfordartscentre.ie or jackie@wexfordartscentre.ie.
