As a final hurrah, The John Byrne Awards are honouring our commitment to providing a platform for artists with an annual exhibition, hosting the work of all this year’s fantastic, shortlisted artists work.

Launching as part of this year’s Annual Award Ceremony on Wednesday 21^st June, the exhibition will be on display to the public from Thursday 22^nd June until Sunday 2^nd July.

About the John Byrne Award

The John Byrne Award is an inclusive online creative competition, named after one of Scotland’s most prolific artists and playwrights, who was also one of the founding trustees. For the last 11 years, our aim has been to celebrate and encourage creativity and promote the discussion of ideas through the medium of the arts. The award has embraced diversity and encouraged entrants who represent Scotland’s many and varied communities.  For 2022/ 23, we shifted from quarterly awards, and took the decision to make an award every month; with the winner of each month receiving £250.

The John Byrne Award judges look for work that is reasoned and relevant, constructive and compelling. The winning artworks are those judged to be the most successful in fulfilling the John Byrne Award criteria. The entries are diverse in medium as well as content and inspiration, and range from painting, film, poetry, spoken word, sculpture, photography, scripts, short stories and more.

You can explore each monthly shortlist, and discover the winners on our website here: https://johnbyrneaward.org.uk/blog/

On display at the Summerhall exhibition will be the full 72 shortlisted works for 2022 / 23, including the 12 monthly winners and the Annual Winner, which will be announced at the Award Ceremony on the 21^st June.

We are grateful to Summerhall and to Hampden & Co Bank for their generous support, without whom the event would not have been possible.