Choosing to charge a fee is not an easy decision. We are fully aware that any cost creates a barrier to entry for some of the communities we were built to serve.
The Artist Prize is a £30,000 open art prize. Any UK-based artist can enter, regardless of connections, gallery representation, or background. Entry starts at £10. We know that for some of the artists we most want to reach, even that is a real cost. This article explains our thinking.
Why we charge at all
Firstsite and Zealous have each committed £15,000 to fund the prize money. That’s the £30,000 – but it doesn’t cover anything else.
Running an open call of this scale requires exhibition space, curatorial coordination, a judging process involving curators from across the country, platform infrastructure, marketing, and months of administration. None of that is free, even when many of us have given our time for free bringing this prize to life.
Without entry fees, The Artist Prize would be unsustainable after year one. We want to make a tangible long-term impact on the arts, and that requires enough capital to not just survive, but to grow.
There’s also a bigger picture.
Galleries like Firstsite exist to support artists and their communities. They run on stretched public funding that shrinks a little more each year. If we want these institutions to keep doing what they do – and to do more of it – we need models that help sustain them. Entry fees for The Artist Prize don’t just fund the prize. Over half goes directly to Firstsite to support their wider mission. The act of entering strengthens the institution that makes the prize possible.
We didn’t want a prize that depends on grant cycles or corporate sponsors to survive. We wanted something that sustains itself year after year – and eventually seeds the model to other galleries so they can replicate it.
Where the money goes
For every £10 raised:
Firstsite
£5.10 (51%) to support their mission as a publicly funded gallery and cover exhibition costs, curatorial coordination, and judging logistics. Firstsite is providing exhibition space for both the group show (20 shortlisted artists) and the winner’s solo show. Any profits go directly to supporting their programme, including initiatives like Holiday Fun, which provides children with free meals and access to art during the school holidays.
Zealous
£2.60 (26%) to cover basic overheads and build a fund for future prizes. This is what guarantees a Year 2, a Year 3, and eventually a network of prizes that could support thousands of artists annually. Any money raised through the prize is ring-fenced for the creative community – it doesn’t fund our company.
VAT
£2.00 (20%) to HMRC. Some can be reclaimed by Firstsite & Zealous, but it leaves the fee before anyone touches it.
Stripe
30p payment processing. This keeps transactions secure and enables alternative payment methods for artists who need them.
What we did to keep costs down
The largest expense is time. Both teams at Firstsite and Zealous have given that freely – strategising, building, and running the prize without agencies or significant marketing spend.
Firstsite is donating their space and everything that makes a show come to life – not once, but twice: the group show and the solo show.
Zealous is donating the platform. The submission infrastructure, judging tools, candidate support, and data management that would normally cost an organisation thousands per year are contributed at no charge.
We have chosen to pay our judges. Unpaid roles – however worthy – tend to draw from the same pool of people who can afford to give their time for free. Paying judges is how we ensure the people selecting the winners reflect the full breadth of UK artistic practice, not just those with the financial security to volunteer.
The fee reflects what we can sustainably afford in year one. It isn’t where we want it to be, and increasing it is a stated goal as the prize grows. Judges who wish to support the prize can donate their fee back, but there is no expectation to do so.
What will we do if we raise more than expected?
It’s hard to model how many entries we’ll receive, and our prices reflect our best expectations.
If we raise more than anticipated, every penny will be reinvested to support artists – either directly, or through the work Firstsite does.
What do these costs cover?
- All the administration and infrastructure to support your submission
- Your work reviewed by curators from across the UK, scored against clear criteria
- If shortlisted: shipping to and from Firstsite covered up to £500 (on receipt of quotes/invoices)
- If you win: the £30,000 prize and support for your solo show
On feedback: we understand how valuable it is. With thousands of submissions it would require hundreds of additional hours and push fees far higher than we’re comfortable with. It’s something we’re actively thinking about for future years.
How we’re trying to create increased access
Fees are only part of the picture. Here’s what else we’re doing.
No nominations. No qualifications. No gatekeepers. Any UK-based artist, any career stage, any medium. Your work is judged on execution, concept, and impact — not on who you know.
The pricing structure includes volume discounts so artists submitting more than one work pay less per entry.
Shipping is covered for shortlisted artists. We know exhibition costs can be a second barrier after entry fees. The 20 shortlisted artists won’t pay to get their work to Firstsite.
We’re actively pursuing sponsorship to fund free entries. If we secure it, that money goes directly to gifting places to artists – not to reducing costs elsewhere.
Promo codes are available for artists who need them. Contact us and we’ll send you one. We won’t ask you to justify it. If you’re reaching out, we trust you need the support. These places are limited, so if you can afford the fee, please pay it. That way the codes go to the artists who need them most.
How we set our fees
Before we set a single price, we looked at what open submission prizes across the UK typically charge. For prizes with physical exhibitions and a comparable scale, fees generally range from £20 to £30 per entry.
We used that as a ceiling, not a floor. Even at our latest, highest tier, we wanted to stay below what most artists would expect to pay elsewhere. That shaped all the pricing decisions we made.
How much does it cost?
| 1 entry | 2 entries | 3 entries | |
| Early Bird until 11 Jun 12:00 BST | £10 | £18 | £24 |
| Standard until 2 July 12:00 BST | £14 | £24 | £30 |
| Late until close | £18 | £30 | £39 |
Why this matters beyond one prize
If The Artist Prize works, we’re publishing everything. The financial model, the judging process, what worked and what didn’t. Open source. Any gallery in the UK could take this and adapt it to their own context.
That’s the long game. Not one prize getting bigger. Many institutions finding sustainable ways to support artists that work for their communities. We’re not there yet. But that’s the direction.