The MK Open, Young Artist Competition 2026 - Celebrating Young Artists within our Schools

After three incredibly successful years, we’re delighted to announce the return of the two Westbury Milton Keynes Open Young Artist Competitions, open to all schools across Milton Keynes.

Teachers are invited to celebrate their students work by entering them in to their own exhibition amongst their peers. Showcase the creativity and talent of your students in this exciting free art competition and exhibition in the Barn Gallery at Wesbury Arts Centre, launching now for 2026.

Competition Dates & Age Groups

Primary School Exhibition

9th May 2026

Judging Categories

Year 1 – Year 3

Year 4 – Year 6

Overall Winner

Secondary School Exhibition

3rd October 2026

Judging Categories

Year 7 – Year 10

Year 11 – Year 13

Overall Winner

Each exhibition will remain open for a few days following the prize-giving ceremony. Teachers will have the opportunity to book private chaperoned school visits during the school day, giving students of your school the chance to see the exhibition together, and let it all soak in at their own pace. Parents interested in entering their children, please get in touch with your school, and pass the teachers the details to be in touch for a form..

Request Entry Form

Submitting Artwork

We invite all teachers in Milton Keynes schools to submit up to 10 students’ artwork, free of charge. Entries are welcome in all mediums and at any scale.

We are especially keen to encourage submissions from young people from diverse backgrounds and disadvantaged communities, ensuring the competition reflects the creativity of our whole community. Everyone is welome!

Why Take Part?

The competition’s aim—now as always—is to inspire, celebrate, and support young artists. By exhibiting their work in a professional, public setting, students gain confidence, recognition, and a real sense of achievement.

Prizes include:

• A chance to win private tuition with a resident artist at Westbury Arts Centre

• A £250 art materials voucher for the school of the overall winner

  
  

Venue & Visits

All prize ceremonies and exhibitions will take place at Westbury Arts Centre, Barn Gallery.

• Private viewing day for friends and families: Primary Schools 9th May, Secondary Schools 3rd October

• Public viewing day for anyone: Primary Schools 10th May, Secondary Schools 4th October

• Dedicated time slots for schools to book visits

The exhibition stands as a powerful reminder of the importance of art in education within our community - its ability to inspire, connect, and give young people from all walks of life the confidence to share their voices with the world.

Request Entry Form

"We were fortunate to have a child who was an overall winner so she was buzzing and our whole school were so proud of her. We are planning to use the money that we received to visit the Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Tate next April."

Ali Gallacher, Art Teacher from Brookland Farm Primary School 

"The competition gave my students both a sense of achievement and a gentle re-introduction to participating confidently in public spaces. Overall, the competition helped many students feel valued, motivated, and inspired to continue developing their artistic skills."

Mali Zafarnezhad from the Bridge Academy West

Email toni.holland@westburyartscentre.org.uk and complete the submission entry form provided on reply, with commitment to the competition by

Friday 13th February 2026 for either event.

We can’t wait to see the creativity and talent of Milton Keynes’ young artists once again - 2026 is set to be our most inspiring year yet!

Each school may make up to 10 entries and each pupil may submit 1 piece of artwork, group work and artwork in any medium are all also welcome.

Criteria

Open to all students up to age 18 within Milton Keynes via a teacher of the school they attend

Entries must be the student’s own or group original artwork

Submissions must be delivered within the dates shown

Westbury does not have the space to store artwork past the collection date

Entries will be judged on quality of work

Entries agree to their details and artworks being included on our website, social media pages

and other advertising channels

Entries must be delivered ready for hanging as directed below

Entires must be labeled correctly and using the guide provided

Dates for Primary Schools for 2026

Entry forms to be submitted: 13th February 2026

Entries to be delivered in person: by 4pm on the 5th May

Awards Ceremony and Friends and Family viewing: Saturday 9th May 12noon

Public Viewing: Sunday 10th May 10am-2pm

Schools invited to visit during school hours 11th and 12th May

Entries to be collected: by 4pm on the 13th May

Dates for Secondary Schools for 2026

Entry forms to be submitted: 28th February

Entries to be delivered in person: by 4pm on the 28th September

Awards Ceremony and Friends and Family viewing: Saturday 3rd October 12noon

Public Viewing Sunday 4th October 10am-2pm

Schools invited to visit during school hours 5th and 6th October

Entries to be collected: by 4pm on the 7th October

Hanging requirements

Within the Barn Gallery is a hanging rail system which requires D rings on the top two corners of all artwork intended to be hung on the walls. If artwork is supplied without the D rings, unfortunately they will be disqualified from the competition.

Artwork Labels

Labels will be displayed under to the individual artwork. We suggest using the following example:

Arial font size 14 throughout. Approx. 9cm width. Layout as follows:

Students Name

Students School Year

School Name

Artwork Name

Medium Used

Please stick one label on to the back of the artwork and provide another to be used for the wall.

Entries will be judged by our expert panel including resident artists at Westbury Arts Centre.

All submissions will be displayed as part of our Milton Keynes Open Young Artist 2026 exhibition.