Art at Glyndebourne

Tour Art Competition

2022's Tour Art Competition challenges new artists to submit an artwork based on the theme of 'Disguise’

Visual arts have always been an integral part of Glyndebourne, on and off the stage, and the annual Tour Art Competition, which has been running since 2013, offers a platform for new artists to raise their profile. 2022’s competition challenges new artists to submit an artwork based on the theme of ‘Disguise’.

New artists, aged 16+ with less than five years’ experience of showing their work, are invited to submit one artwork by midnight (UK GMT) on Sunday 3 July 2022. Two-dimensional works in any medium can be submitted, including paintings, drawings, prints, photography and digital art works. The artwork should either be presented in a square format or be able to be successfully cropped to a square format when reproduced, with a maximum size of 50cm x 50cm. A panel of judges will consider the creativity and technical execution of the artworks and how well each piece interprets the brief, before selecting a shortlist and the eventual winning entry.

The winning artist will see their artwork on the cover of the Glyndebourne Tour Programme 2022 and their work will also be part of both a physical exhibition onsite at Glyndebourne’s Gallery 94 and a digital exhibition with all shortlisted works this autumn. Works can be offered for sale during the exhibition with an upper price limit of £500 (including commission).

As part of the prize, the winner will receive four free tickets to The Marriage of Figaro at Glyndebourne during the Tour 2022. All shortlisted entrants will win two free tickets.


Disguise: our theme for 2022

The theme for this year’s competition is ‘Disguise’. We are looking for artworks that are inspired by Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro where disguise takes many forms: a dress makes a pretty girl of a soldier; a veil transforms a maid into a grand lady; darkness turns a faithful wife into an illicit lover; a title makes a gentleman of a cad. But masks and costumes are only the start of the deception in a drama where private selves must be publicly concealed, where seeming and being are never quite the same thing.



Previous winners

Keren Golea

The winner of 2021’s competition was Keren Golea, with her oil-on-linen portrait entitled Emergence. Keren’s work commented on the idea of potential and purpose and the power of nature in response to the competition theme ‘Forces of nature’. Keren’s work was part of an impressive shortlist of original artworks submitted from 18 different countries.

Tom Faber

Tom Faber, was our 2019 competition winner with a digital collage, Composition After Saint Anthony. Tom took the relationship between painting and digital media as part of his interpretation of the competition theme ‘Lost and found’.

Sam Creasey

London-based artist, Sam Creasey, won 2018’s competition with For Love Nor Money. Head competition judge and Glyndebourne’s executive chairman Gus Christie said it was ‘a brilliant execution of a topical theme, it feels modern and unique.’

We welcome all artists to follow the art programme at Glyndebourne via Instagram – @artatglyndebourne and on our website.

You might also like

See the shortlisted entries from the 2021 Tour Art Competiti…
Our Artist in Residence scheme for ‘emerging’ visual artists…
Discover a world-leading opera house in the heart of the Sus…
Browse our archive exhibitions in our dedicated gallery spac…
Glyndebourne Shop
Our online shop offers a great selection of exclusive and locally sourced products. Every purchase supports our work.
Become a Member
Enjoy priority booking for the Festival. Find out how you can join as an Associate Member
Support us
Glyndebourne is a charity and the Festival receives no public subsidy. We rely on generous supporters who are passionate about opera.