Hesketh Hubbard Bursaries 2026

About the Open Call

The Hesketh Hubbard Art Society, London's largest life drawing group, is offering three free year-long membership bursaries to young artists aged between 18 and 30. These bursaries provide the opportunity to attend weekly untutored life drawing sessions at Mall Galleries free of charge for a year, starting from January 2026. Sessions typically run on Friday evenings and selected Monday evenings, featuring multiple models for quick poses, long nude poses, and clothed portrait poses. The society was established in 1930 to address the shortage of life drawing opportunities and continues to offer artists a stimulating and supportive atmosphere to develop their skills and artistic interpretation of the human figure.

What is Offered

A free year-long membership bursary to attend weekly life drawing sessions at Mall Galleries, starting from January 2026.

Requirements

Applicants must be young artists aged between 18 and 30 at the close of submissions. The bursaries are intended for those who have had limited access to life and portrait drawing and painting, rather than artists who are already accomplished in this field. Artists can work in any medium or media, except those that cause damage or disruption to the galleries (e.g., dip pens and ink are not allowed).

How to Apply

All applications must be submitted online, free of charge via Jotform. Step One: Upload up to four example images of your work (JPEG or PNG, under 5MB, representing the human figure) and an artist statement (up to 300 words answering: How will the bursary help to develop your artistic practice?) between Wednesday 22 October and Friday 21 November 2025. Step Two: Shortlisted artists will be contacted via email on Friday 28 November and invited for an interview at Mall Galleries on Wednesday 3 December, where they will present a small portfolio. Step Three: The three winners will be announced on the Mall Galleries website on Friday 5 December, before the bursaries begin in January 2026.