Royal Institute of Oil Painters

About the Open Call

Artists are invited to submit work for exhibition alongside members of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters at the ROI Annual Exhibition 2025 at Mall Galleries. The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, founded in 1882, promotes and exhibits work of the highest standard exclusively in oil paint. The exhibition features works by exciting emerging painters alongside more established names. This year's special optional theme is 'HOME', with a dedicated ROI Themed Painting Prize. Successful applicants can expect inclusion in the exhibition (in-gallery and online), eligibility for various prizes and awards (including the £4,000 Roger Remington Award, Winsor & Newton Young Artist Awards, Peter Wileman Award, Stanley Grimm Prize, Menena Joy Schwabe Memorial Award, ROI Emerging Artist Prize, Rosemary Brushes Award, Small Painting Prize, Tony Merrick Memorial Prize, Winsor & Newton Non-member Award, Art Academy London Award, The Artist Magazine Award, Dry Red Press Award, Frank Herring Easel Award, The Le Clerc Fowle Medal, and The Dartington Crystal Chalice), an invitation to the Private View, the chance to sell their work, and the possibility of election to membership. Submissions are ONLINE ONLY and open until Friday 10 October 2025. All submitted work must be for sale. The submission fee is £20 per work, or £14 per work for artists aged 35 or under, and is non-refundable. Artists aged 18 or over, from anywhere in the world, may enter a maximum of six works, with up to three selected. Works must be completed within the last three years, not previously exhibited at Mall Galleries, and not submitted to other competitions or exhibitions between June 9 and December 16, 2025. Works should not exceed 2.4m along the longest dimension and must be original creations. Acceptable media is exclusively oil paint (water-soluble oil paint is also acceptable if framed as an oil). Works are encouraged to be framed, or on a well-presented box canvas, avoiding wide mounts or picture glass. All fittings and fixings should be removed from frames. Submissions are made through the Open Exhibition Submission System (OESS) by uploading JPEG or PNG images (under 5MB), along with title, medium, size, year of completion, and price. Delivery of selected works is to Mall Galleries, 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5BD. Artists are responsible for delivery and collection costs. All works must be for sale, with a minimum price of £500. Mall Galleries charges a 45% +VAT commission on sales. International artists are responsible for registering and accounting for UK VAT if their work is selected and sold. The decision of the Selection Committee is final. The gallery holds personal data in accordance with GDPR and has the right to reproduce works in connection with the exhibition. Contact exhibitions@mallgalleries.com for support.

What is Offered

Inclusion in the ROI Annual Exhibition (in-gallery and online), eligibility for various prizes and awards (including the £4,000 Roger Remington Award, Winsor & Newton Young Artist Awards, Peter Wileman Award, ROI Themed Painting Prize, Stanley Grimm Prize, Menena Joy Schwabe Memorial Award, ROI Emerging Artist Prize, Rosemary Brushes Award, Small Painting Prize, Tony Merrick Memorial Prize, Winsor & Newton Non-member Award, Art Academy London Award, The Artist Magazine Award, Dry Red Press Award, Frank Herring Easel Award, The Le Clerc Fowle Medal, and The Dartington Crystal Chalice), an invitation to the Private View, the chance to sell work, and the possibility of election to membership.

Requirements

Any artist aged 18 or over may enter, from anywhere in the world. Artists may enter a maximum of six works, from which up to three may be selected. The combined total of the longest dimension of each accepted painting will not exceed 8 feet maximum per artist. Work must have been completed within the last three years and not previously exhibited at Mall Galleries. Submitted artworks must not be submitted to other competitions or exhibitions taking place between 9 June and 16 December 2025. Works should be no larger than 2.4m along the longest dimension. All works must be original creations. Acceptable media is exclusively oil paint (water-soluble oil paint is acceptable if framed as an oil). Acrylic is not accepted. Works are encouraged to be framed; unframed work may be accepted if on a well-presented box canvas. Wide mounts, picture glass, metal frames, unprotected glass edges, and clip frames are inadmissible. Remove all fittings and fixings from the back of frames.

How to Apply

Submissions are ONLINE ONLY via the Open Exhibition Submission System (OESS) between Monday 9 June and Friday 10 October 2025. Upload your image/s in JPEG or PNG format and under 5MB. One image per submission must be submitted, showing the complete work, with an optional two additional images for details. Also required are the title, medium, size (cm), year of completion, and price of each work. Selected works are to be delivered unwrapped to Mall Galleries, 17 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5BD on Saturday 15 November, 10am to 5pm.