Annual Exhibition 2025

what you need to know…

5 September – 17 October 2026

Dear PSI members,

Our 2026 Pastel Society of Ireland (PSI) Annual Exhibition is to be held at Millenium Court in Portadown between 5 September and 17 October 2026, with a launch event for members at 12.30 pm on 5 September which will include an opportunity to try out new materials and sample pastels as well as a guided tour of the exhibition for anyone who is interested. The exhibition will open to the public from 2pm on 5 September.

The exhibition is for all Members and Associate Members of PSI who are fully paid up to date.

The following materials are accepted by the Society: soft pastels, oil pastels, charcoal, graphite/pencil, colouring pencil or mixed dry media (where at least 80% of the piece is created using dry media pastels). All art work must be exhibition ready; framed with hanging attachments.

  • Full members are invited to submit up to three paintings / artworks for inclusion, depending on available space.

  • Associate members are invited to submit up to two paintings / artworks for inclusion, depending on available space.

The deadline for submitting entries is midnight on 1 August, using the online form at the link below.

The key dates to note are:

  • Entries submitted online by midnight on 1 August.

  • In-take day:- Saturday 28 August between 10am and 12 noon 

  • Exhibition Member launch: - Saturday 5 September at 12.30 pm, followed by a guided tour and an opportunity to try new samples.

  • Print / card submission - 5 September between 12.30 and 2pm

  • Exhibition public launch: - Saturday 5 September at 2 pm

  • Exhibition runs: from 5 September - 17 October

  • Collection of unsold works: Monday 19 October, in line with the opening hours of Millennium Court which are available on their website at millenniumcourt.co.uk 

  • One day pastel and charcoal class (two workshops combined): - 3 October cost TBC

Commission on sale of artwork

The Millennium Court will deal with all sales. The commission of 20% will be payable to the Millennium Court on the sale of artwork. However final payment will be issued to artists by the society’s treasurer.

This year the Millennium Court is operating a sell and replace policy and artists are asked to bring 2 extra paintings (clearly labelled with the artists name, title of work and price) to be held on standby and stored by the Millennium Court. [These additional artworks will not incur any additional hanging fee].

Photographing and uploading art

Please take a photograph of your painting/artwork before framing, as it will be included in the online gallery on the PSI website.

There is a help sheet on how to do this available on the PSI website. Images need to be good quality JPEGS, a minimum of 1MB and a maximum of 5MB, unframed, cropped to edges. Images will be uploaded using this form, at the time you fill it out.

Members please note, when filling in your entries online this is what will appear on your exhibition labels and online gallery details so do check your spelling, measurements and prices carefully.

How to submit an entry

Please submit your entries to the exhibition using the online form that can be accessed here.

Fees

Membership fees: The online form will ask if you are up-to-date with your membership fees for PSI. the annual subscription fee for 2026 is £30 or €35. If you have not already paid these it would be helpful to do so before you complete the form so that you can confirm you are up-to-date.

Hanging fees: there is a hanging fee of £8 for every artwork. Again the form will ask you to confirm that you have paid this.

 

All fees are payable to our Treasurer Catherine McKeever.

Treasurer email: cathj.mckeever@hotmail.com

 

If you wish to pay by bank transfer or standing order please note the society’s bank details are as follows:

Ulster Bank

Sort Code: 980330

Account number: 10887184

BIC number: ULSBGB2B

IBAN: GB35ULSB 98033010887184

Remember to reference your name for bank transfers.

If you wish to pay fees by cheque, please make it payable to The Pastel Society of Ireland and forward it to the treasurer:

Mrs C. McKeever

The Pastel Society of Ireland

117 Crosskeys Road

Toomebridge

County Antrim

BT41 3QA

 

Again, please clearly state what fees you are paying for (ie, membership and/or hanging fees and number of artworks).

The form will send you a confirmation email with the details of your entries, so if you do not receive this please check that you have filled in your email address correctly.

All Members may enter up to three artworks and Associate Members may enter up to two Artworks. We will endeavour to include all submitted artworks, but this is subject to gallery space and so you should upload your entries to the form in order of preference.

As well as the physical exhibition at Millennium Court we will post an online exhibition to the PSI website.  Again, please follow instructions to ensure that your artworks are uploaded correctly so that they can be included in this.

Please read the instructions carefully and follow the prompts on the form, paying special attention to instructions around sizing, spacing, capital letters, pricing, symbols etc and proof reading your entries for accuracy and punctuation before submitting as there will be no opportunity to revise these once submitted.

Tips for completing the form

·       Read the instructions on the form carefully.

·       Pay all fees before you start.

·       Have all your information written down before you start.

·       Measure your pictures, framed and unframed, in cms.

·       Take photos of your artwork and save them for the online gallery section. These should be photographed straight-on and cropped to show just the image, no mount or frame please.

·       Have your prices worked out, allowing for your framing costs and the commission of 20% on all work sold.

Prints and Cards

We are pleased to advise that the Millennium Court has also offered to all members this year again the opportunity to sell prints and cards of their pastel work during the exhibition. Sales will be conducted by the Millennium Court itself with 20% commission on any items sold. If you are interested in this opportunity please be advised that the maximum number of prints for sale by each artist will be limited to 10 and the maximum number of cards will also be limited to 10.

 

It is essential that all prints/cards are sealed in cellophane with an attached label displaying the price of each print. Artists must also have prints in their own display boxes/stands or print racks which will be set up on the 5th after 2pm when it will be open to the public. A stock sheet noting the number of prints and cards that are being sold by each artist, must be handed in to the Millennium Court. The stock sheet should contain the quantity, sizes, titles and prices of the all prints/cards.

 

Please hand in your prints/cards along with your stock sheet preferably at 12.30pm on the 5th September. Those artists that sell prints/cards will be notified following the end of the exhibition and payment will be issued by the Pastel Society of Ireland.

Other exhibition events

In addition to the exhibition itself the Committee has planned a number of associated events, which are set out below, with further details to follow.

  • A two part workshop that will cover: i. alcohol underpaintings and pastel; and ii. capturing light and texture with charcoal ”, by Anthony Haughey and Julie Wilson - Saturday 3 October 10am – 4.00

We are delighted to offer this dynamic two-for-the-price of one workshop. Participants will enjoy two separate hands-on sessions, in the morning and the afternoon, one focusing on techniques for developing pastel paintings using an initial alcohol underpainting and the other exploring the versatility of charcoal in a range of forms to convey texture, light and atmosphere. The workshop will be open to all members as well as the wider public. Tickets will be arranged by Millennium Court through Eventbrite.

Please book early - places are limited to a maximum of 20 (split into two groups). Cost to be confirmed by Millennium Court.

This is an all day workshop that will run from 10am until around 4.30 pm and we will break for lunch (not included, please bring a packed lunch or there are cafes nearby.)

  • Demonstrations

  1. Catherine McKeever will be hosting a free demonstration and talk, which will be open to all but particularly aimed at art groups and schools on 6 or 8 of October TBC.

  2. In addition, following the very successful informal ‘artist in residence’ demonstrations last year by our member Anthony Haughey the Millennium Court is very keen to continue this practice again this year. Having a artist presence at the exhibition has proven to draw in additional footfall and assist with sales. With this in mind the committee would greatly appreciate it, if any member would like to volunteer some free time to come to the Millennium Court and paint in the gallery for the public to enjoy seeing an artist at work. If you are interested in committing to a certain day and time of your choice (excluding the 3rd of October), even if it is only for a few hours please let the PSI secretary know ASAP so that we can create a schedule and advise Millennium Court.