Entries now open for Faculty of Occupational Medicine’s 50th anniversary art competition

The RCPI Faculty of Occupational Medicine has opened entries for an art competition as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations.

Organised in collaboration with the RCPI Heritage Centre, the competition aims to highlight the faculty’s work, and explore the intersection of work and medicine through visual art.

The competition is open to trainees, licentiates, members and fellows of the College and its faculties and institutes, as well as RCPI staff. A judging panel made up of representatives of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine and the RCPI Art Working Group will assess submissions.

Applicants are invited to create work that responds to the theme of work and medicine or reflects the mission of the faculty. Submissions will be judged on artistic merit and engagement with the theme.

Shortlisted works will be exhibited at No. 6 Kildare Street, in the link corridor between the Corrigan and Graves Hall. The exhibition will form part of several key events including Culture Night, the faculty’s autumn conference, the RCPI Annual Conference and the Smiley Symposium. Winning work(s) may be added to the permanent RCPI art collection.

Submissions should be made by email and must include images of the artwork along with a short written statement.

Further details on eligibility, submission requirements and key dates are available below

Competition details and how to apply

Eligibility

• Open to trainees, licentiates, members and fellows of the College and its faculties and institutes
• Open to all RCPI staff

Theme

• Applicants are invited to create works examining any aspect of the intersection of work and medicine, and/or the mission of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine
• Research on current or historic occupational medicine is encouraged and may be incorporated into the work
• Applicants are required to submit a short thematic response statement on how their work relates to this theme (300 word limit).

Submission requirements

• Applicants can submit up to 2 physical works of art, such as paintings, drawings, prints, photography, and mixed media that are suitable for wall hanging
• If selected, artworks must be professionally presented with complete mechanisms for wall hanging and be no bigger than (1500mm (height) x 1000mm (width))
• The use of artificial intelligence (AI) or other digital tools in the creation of the submitted artwork is permitted, provided that the artist has exercised meaningful creative control over the final piece. Entrants must declare the use of AI in their submission and clarify how it was used.

How to apply

Submit digital images of work by email to heritagecentre@rcpi.ie by 5:00pm on Monday, 27 July 2026.

Please include high-resolution images of your work, framed dimensions, weight (if work is large or heavy), and thematic response statement (300 words).

Key dates

• Submission deadline: 5:00pm on Monday, 27 July 2026
• Applicants notified of shortlisting outcomes: Early August
• Delivery of shortlisted works: Early September
• Exhibition opens: Mid-September
• Winner announced at a faculty event: November
• Exhibition closes and works collected: December

Additional information

• Shortlisted artists will be responsible for sending works to the College, and all shipping costs and payment of any associated duties or taxes.
• RCPI will not be responsible for resolving any customs issues that may occur.
• Shortlisted and winning works may be used for communication and publicity purposes

For more information, please contact the RCPI Heritage Centre team