Write on Art is a national writing programme for young people (14–19 years old) devised in 2017 by Art UK and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (PMC).
Young writers are invited to write 400–600 words about an artwork of their choice on Art UK's website for one of three categories:
- Creative writing – an imaginative and expressive response to an artwork
- Review – a critical commentary about an artwork or installation
- Essay – a critical analysis of an artwork supported by evidence
The 2025 cycle of Write on Art is live and will close at 11.59 pm on 30th June 2025. Write on Art is free to enter.
Write on Art winners 2022
The prize
Twelve successful applicants will be invited to attend a day-long Young Art Writers Workshop at the Royal College of Arts in September 2025. The workshop will include writing and editing sessions, mentoring from industry professionals and opportunities to connect with other young writers. Throughout the day the group will co-design and produce a zine featuring the twelve shortlisted essays. This zine will be printed for sharing with friends and family and featured on the PMC and Art UK's websites.
Applicants will be notified of whether they have been selected for the Young Art Writers Workshop by August 2025.
Find out how to apply.
The challenge
Choose one artwork from Art UK's website and submit a piece of writing about it to one of our three categories. Please choose a category based on the style of writing you would like to explore.
Each category has two subcategories: one for younger writers and one for older writers. Submit your writing to the subcategory that matches the age you are at the time of submission.
- Younger writers: 14–16 years old. Write 400 words maximum
- Older writers: 17–19 years old. Write 600 words maximum
While Write on Art is intended for 14–19-year-olds, we are keen to be inclusive and if you feel submitting a piece to Write on Art would be beneficial for you, please reach out to our Learning Programme Manager, Rachel Prosser, at rprosser@paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk
There are over 500,000 artworks from the UK's national collection to discover on Art UK. (Please note, we cannot accept entries about art that is not on Art UK.) Your writing could be a poem, shining a light on an underrepresented artist; a review of your favourite artwork in your local gallery; or an essay which reinterprets a famous historical painting.
Art History is the study of power, politics, identity and humanity and we should be doing all we can – with projects like this – to get as many young people as possible excited by art history and involved in it.
–Jeremy Deller, Turner Prize-winning artist
See our Tips for writing for ideas on how to choose an artwork and for information about the writing categories.
