A Newtownabbey teenager is one of 20 artists shortlisted for the AIB Young Portrait Prize 2026, announced by the National Gallery of Ireland.

Bentley O'Balogun, age 15, has been selected for his work ‘Oldest Trick in the Book’, a portrait in oil on canvas.

The AIB Young Portrait Prize showcases the artistic talent of young people aged eighteen and under. Winners in each of the four categories (6 and under, 7–11, 12–15, and 16–18) as well as an overall winner, will be selected from the shortlist.

Category winners will receive a bespoke art box and a cash prize. The overall competition winner will be awarded a personalised wooden box of high-quality art materials and a cash prize of €500. This year’s AIB Young Portrait Prize judges are Amanda Coogan, artist; Carl Hickey, artist; and Donna Rose, Curator at the National Museum of Ireland.

Bentley O'Balogun, age 15, has been selected for his work ‘Oldest Trick in the Book’, a portrait in oil on canvas. Image provided by National Gallery of Ireland

placeholder image — Bentley O'Balogun, age 15, has been selected for his work ‘Oldest Trick in the Book’, a portrait in oil on canvas. Image provided by National Gallery of Ireland

Bentley joins two Belfast artists who have been shortlisted for the AIB Portrait Prize.

They are Beverley Healy, for her piece in egg tempera and pencil on panel ‘The Known and the Unknown (Elsa and Carlton)’, and Evanna Devine, for her photograph ‘Frank Flannelly, Farmer from Easky, Co. Sligo. 6 April, 2026’.

The AIB Portrait Prize shortlist includes paintings, video, pastel, mixed media and photography by artists from across the country.

The winner will receive a cash prize of €15,000 and will be commissioned to create a work for the National Portrait Collection, for which they will be awarded a further €5,000. Two additional awards of €1,500 will be given to highly commended works.

Judges for the AIB Portrait Prize 2026 are Dr Brian Fay, artist and lecturer at TU Dublin; Christina Kennedy, Senior Curator, Head of Collections at the Irish Museum of Modern Art; and Dr Joseph McBrinn, Art Historian and Lecturer at Belfast School of Art.

The exhibition of the shortlisted portraits in both competitions will be on display in the Portrait Gallery (Room 23) at the National Gallery of Ireland from November 14, 2026 until March 14, 2027.

The winners of the Prizes will be announced at a ceremony held in the National Gallery of Ireland on December 2, 2026.