Absa 2026 L’Atelier art competition for young visual artists across Africa.

Competition format

• There are 12 countries that qualify to take part in the Absa L’Atelier (Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, the Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia).
• After the entry closing date, the 12 countries are randomly divided into three groups of four countries each.
• Artists in each group compete against one another.
• There’s no competition among the three groups – artists compete within their own group only.
• Artists are required to submit one entry, which consists of a portfolio of work of a minimum of four and a maximum of five artworks. Submission of fewer than four artworks will result in the artist’s immediate disqualification.
• Each group of four countries have a different group of adjudicators.
• A single winner will be selected from each of the three groups of four countries (i.e. one winner from Group A, one winner from Group B and one winner from Group C).
• Absa has the right to exhibit artworks from each of the winners after they are announced.
• The winner of each group is referred to as an Absa L’Atelier Ambassador.

Eligibility Requirements

• The competition is open to all artists who are not younger than 21 and not older than 40 on 31 March 2026. In the case of art students, only final-year students who meet the age requirements may participate.
• All prize winners will be required to take up the prize as per the date mentioned in the entry details.
• Only artists who are citizens or have been granted permanent residency and are permanently residing in South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, Botswana, Uganda, Mozambique, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Tanzania, Nigeria or Namibia may enter the competition.
• All airfares to an artist’s exhibition opening and/or residency forms part of their prize and is only from and back to their resident country. If they need to travel from any other location, they’d be responsible for paying the difference in what it would have cost to fly them from their home country.
• If information is not captured accurately on the system and any information is missing from the online registration, the entrant will automatically be disqualified.

Prizes

There are four prizes for the competition:

• The main prize for the winner of each group; and
• The Gerard Sekoto Award for a South African entrant who continues to demonstrate growth in their art production.

Main prize

The winners will take up their prizes concurrently. The winner (Ambassador) from each of the three groups will receive the following:

1. A new laptop or equivalent with Windows and an MS Office package installed.
2. A total of 11 two-hour masterclasses, either virtually or in-person, from leading global authorities over a three-month period from May to July 2027. The topics covered through the masterclasses include:
   1. Mental wellness: Understanding mental health and how to deal with it;
   2. Financial wellness: Budgeting and managing your finances;
   3. Legal wellbeing: The importance of contracts, wills and trusts;
   4. The art of negotiation and conflict resolution;
   5. Studio practice;
   6. Media training and presence, and social media audience development and public relations;
   7. Building and managing an art portfolio;
   8. Fundraising and proposal writing;
   9. Art professionalism: Developing your career and building your brand as an artist;
   10. Artist residencies and how they can benefit your career; and
   11. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
3. A four-month mentorship with a leading authority in the visual arts from their respective country. The mentorship programme will take place from June to September 2027.
4. The year after being awarded the prize, a concurrent two-month international residency with the Kromdraai Impact Hub in South Africa in 2027. The residency programme runs from 11 May to 11 July 2027. While in residency, the three Ambassadors:
   • Will be introduced to South Africa’s art and cultural scene;
   • Have the option to produce an artwork that will be converted into an NFT; and
   • Produce a limited body of artworks for a pop-up exhibition on the last weekend of their residency.
5. The option to host a solo exhibition within two years of winning the award (i.e. those who win in 2026, will have to exhibit by 2028). The exhibition will take place in the artist’s home country, at the Absa Gallery or at an alternative venue as decided on by Absa and its partners. The Ambassador attends the exhibition opening and is awarded up to R100 000 for material costs towards the exhibition. All artworks must be available for sale with the majority of the proceeds going to the artist.

Gerard Sekoto Award

The Absa L’Atelier Gerard Sekoto Award is open to any South African artist aged between 25 and 35 years. This award is made possible by IFAS and the French Embassy in South Africa, in partnership with Absa and SANAVA. To qualify, an entrant must be a permanent South African citizen and be permanently residing in South Africa. The award comprises:

1. A three-month residency, from April to June in 2027, at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France, including return airfare from South Africa to Paris, a daily stipend while in Paris and return transport between the artist’s place of residence in South Africa and the airport.
2. A solo exhibition with a partner gallery in Johannesburg in 2028. Absa will cover the material and framing costs for this exhibition up to a maximum value of R100 000.
3. Three virtual masterclasses, covering:
   1. Mental wellness: Understanding mental health and how to deal with it;
   2. Financial wellness: Budgeting and managing your finances; and
   3. Legal wellbeing: The importance of contracts, wills and trusts.

Entry Conditions

• All entry details of the artist and artwork must be submitted on the Absa L’Atelier online competition portal.
• All fields must be completed when submitting an entry.
• Any field left blank will result in automatic disqualification of the entry.
• Adjudication for each submitted entry is done via the online portal.

Application Deadline

Application Deadline: 31 May 2026, at 16:00 (Central African Time).