Growing Up in Ireland National Children’s Art Competition

Calling all young artists aged 4-15 across Ireland!

It's time to grab your pencils, paints, imagination and be part of the Growing Up in Ireland National Children's Art Competition!

The theme of the competition is ‘Ireland of the Future’.

Whether through drawing, painting or another artistic medium, we want to see what the next generation imagines for Ireland’s future.

The deadline for submission is 12pm noon on Friday, 23 October 2026.

There are some fantastic prizes up for grabs! Two overall winners will have their artwork form part of a permanent exhibition in the Department's headquarters in Dublin, giving lots of people the chance to enjoy their creativity for years to come. The winners and highly commended awards in each age category will receive an art hamper packed full of supplies to inspire their next masterpiece.

The competition forms part of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Growing Up in Ireland. It is an exciting opportunity for young people to be part of a national celebration, showcase their creativity, and share their vision for the future of Ireland.

To submit an artwork, please send the following:

• Completed Entry Form
• High-quality image of the artwork

to this email address: artcompetition@dcde.gov.ie

Please note:

• You may use a wide variety of physical artistic media, including drawing, painting, crayon, pencil, pastel, collage, printmaking, textile art, watercolour.
• Artwork must be the original work of entrant. Digital or AI generated submissions will not be accepted.
• Artwork should be between A4 and A2 sizes.
• Artworks can be submitted in JPG, PNG or PDF format.
• It is up to entrants to ensure that a high-quality image is submitted.
• Entrants should retain the original artwork until after the competition period has ended.

For more information please see Guidance Document here.

The competition invites children to create artwork inspired by the theme:

"Ireland of the Future"

We encourage children to share their hopes, ideas and vision for the future of Ireland in their work.

Submissions will be assessed within different categories by age as follows:

• Category 1: Ages 4-7
• Category 2: Ages 8-11
• Category 3: Ages 12-15

An Additional Needs Award will also be available within each age category. A number of Highly Commended certificates will also be awarded within each age category.

• Opening Date: Tuesday 29 September 2026
• Closing Date: Friday 23 October 2026 (at 12pm noon)

Growing Up in Ireland is the national longitudinal study of children and young people, a joint project of the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Find out more about Growing Up in Ireland here.

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all competition entrants and their parents/guardians. All personal data will be processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation and the Department's Privacy Notice, available here.