If you haven’t already got a free account with Zealous, you’ll need to get one via the purple ‘Sign Up’ button at the top of the page.
Once you have registered on their platform you can enter the challenge via the purple ‘submit’ button on the page, beneath the header and logo.
Once you’ve clicked this you’ll be guided through making your submission to the challenge: the first page contains the guidelines, there’s a tick box at the bottom to confirm you have read and understood them before continuing, the second page is where you’d upload your image and enter some basic, pertinent details about your artwork, and the third page is for some further information.
Remember, you can save your progress at any time and come back to it in order to complete it if you need to.
You must be an SAA member to enter our AOY competition and will be asked for your membership number. You can find details on where you find this below.
Log in to your SAA account on our website.
Once you have logged in, you’ll automatically be taken to your Account Dashboard. If you’re already logged in, go to saa.co.uk and click ‘My Account’ at the top of the page. Your 5 or 6-digit membership number is listed here with the other details of your SAA membership.
If you’re struggling with an aspect of the Zealous platform, there’s help on hand – on the bottom righthand side of the page there’s a white and purple round button. Clicking this will allow you access to the help page and the live chat function they have on their website.
Alternatively you can go to the Help Area on the Zealous website for their comprehensive list of help guides and FAQs.
At the bottom of this page is a purple strip which says “Couldn’t find an answer?” – clicking this within working hours will allow you speak to a member of their staff by typing through a chat box. You can also contact Zealous via email: info@zealous.co
You can submit up to 5 paintings to the competition.
It’s up to you if you want to just enter one, or use all five of your allocated submissions.
During submission you will be asked which categories you wish to submit to, clicking more than one of these options, will enter the same painting multiple times in different categories – using up your allotted entries.
Writing an artist’s statement is like painting a picture with words, capturing the essence of your creativity and what drives your passion for art. Here’s a friendly guide on what to include:
We have two brilliant articles on this subject. The first is an article (click here) written by SAA Professional Partner, Artist, Teacher and Artists of the Year judge – Alison C. Board.
The next is an article (click here) written by SAA Professional Artist, Teacher and demonstrator, Becky Gouverneur.
Apply as many of these techniques to your photography as you are able to, whether or not you have access to a DSLR camera, many tips are universal.
Those who have been shortlisted will be notified by 28th May 2025. You will be contacted via the same email address you submitted through Zealous from aoy@saa.co.uk
Highly commended and exhibiting artists will be notified by 16th June 2025 via the phone number or email address they submitted their work through on Zealous. The email will come from aoy@saa.co.uk.
Winners will be announced at the AOY Awards Evening on 30th October at The Copeland Gallery, London; and announced to SAA Members and the general public on 1st November. The People’s Choice Award winner will be announced on 10th November.
For full details about The Cass Art Prize, including rules of entry and associated fees, go to: https://www.cassart.co.uk/thecassartprize/
Additionally, all 1st place category winners of SAA’s Artists of the Year competition will be automatically entered into The Cass Art Prize.
SAA is owned by The Cass Group, alongside Artcoe, Artifolk and, of course, Cass Art.
No – if you already have an account with Zealous from a previous competition then you just need to log in with those credentials and enter the competition as you did last year.
No – we’re unable to include these entries into the judging process for you. If you need help uploading your entries, you can find the help pages for using Zealous here: https://zealous.co/help/.
During office hours you will also be able to send live chat messages to a colleague at Zealous and they’ll get back to you in real time with help. You can also email them using info@zealous.co
Yes! Our Affiliated Art Club members are welcome to enter SAA’s Artists of the Year 2025 – just include your Art Club’s membership number in the relevant box during the submission process.
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