Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium - Annual Contest (Arts)

Annual Contest of the Classe des Arts

You will win 1,250 EUR for the best entry in response to the question set by the Academy this year. The Royal Academy of Sciences, Literature and Fine Arts of Belgium organises this competition once a year and awards a total of 6 prizes: 4 for works in the fields of art history and art criticism, and 2 for original creative works. The creative discipline changes with each round. For the 2025–2027 round, the brief for creative works is ‘painting’.

Who can apply

• Who it is for: Anyone who can answer this year’s question. A university degree or academic qualification is not required.
• Field: Fine Art and Architecture. The prizes for art history and art criticism are awarded for written work. The prizes for artistic creation are awarded for original works of art in the discipline specified for that year (painting for 2025–2027).
• Nationality: Open to all nationalities.
• Your entry must be original: It must not have been published previously. Written submissions may be based on your Master’s thesis, doctoral thesis or habilitation thesis and must not exceed 250 pages, each containing 2,500 characters.
• Language: You must submit your documents in French or Dutch.
• Anonymity: For the creative prizes you stay anonymous. You mark your work with a motto or code that matches a sealed envelope holding your identity. The envelope is opened only after the prize is awarded.

How to apply

Please send your entry to the Academy’s secretary at the Palais des Academies in Brussels. The closing date for the current painting competition is 31 March 2027.