INTERNATIONAL ART & DESIGN COMPETITION 2026 – Accademia Riaci –
PURPOSE OF THE COMPETITION
Florence, sometimes called the “museum of no roof ”, is the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance. The city of which modern Italy is proud as a center of art had reached one of its pinnacles between the 14th and 16th centuries, when creative energies and techniques of artisans flourished.
“The International Art & Design Competition” takes place in this marvelous environment. The aim of the competition is to contribute to the revitalization and internationalization of the entire Italian Art, Design and Crafts industries, by discovering new artists, fostering their talents, and in the meantime promoting the study abroad in Italy.
THEME 2026
Create your Art Work with Characteristics of Italian Renaissance.
COMPETITION CATEGORIES (7 categories)
Jewelry Making, Jewelry Design, Furniture Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Bag Making, Painting & Drawing.
TARGET AND CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION
The competition is free to participate.
The competition is open to anyone aged 18 or above with no specific nationality.
SCHEDULE
- DECEMBER 31, 2025: Deadline for Online Registration
- JANUARY 15, 2026: Deadline for Entry Submission
- FEBRUARY 28, 2026: Final Result Publication – The winners will be informed about the result by e-mail on FEBRUARY 28.
- JUNE 1, 2026: Due date for actual projects to be received at Accademia Riaci
- SEPTEMBER, 2026: Exhibition of Prize-winning Projects
- MAY, 2026 – DECEMBER, 2026: Prize-winners enroll Accademia Riaci
ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR PARTECIPATION
For those who have completed the Online Registration, we look forward to your submission of photo data by JANUARY 15, 2026.
All materials must be accurately collected in a single portfolio, in the following order:
- 1) A CV/resume in Italian or English, with all necessary personal information (Please make sure to specify the followings: first & last name, nationality, street address, telephone number, e-mail address, educational records, job experience and Italian/English level.)
- 2) 5 images of each submitted project:
– For two-dimensional works; photo data
– For three-dimensional works; photo data, perspective drawings, original data (PDF or photo data) of plan/developed view drawings, etc. - 3) Text (.doc, .rtf, .txt etc.) regarding the simple conceptual explanation of the project, in Italian or English (max. one page of A4 or equivalent sized paper), including its title, size, materials used, techniques applied and a brief explanation about how the inspiration for the project came to mind.
- 4) Portfolio of your previous major works/collections (optional)
– Must contain color photo data of a minimum of 5 works, together with 1 sheet of type-written A4 text (must be readable) containing the information about all works in the portfolio (title, date of production, materials used and techniques applied for each work);
– Number all works in your previous portfolio. Make sure your full name is also specified on each work.
Submission Criteria
- Every participant must guarantees the authorship of his/her project, by assuring that he/she made the design himself/herself;
- Each participant can decide freely the techniques, styles and materials to use;
Size Criteria
Two-dimensional works: between A4 size (210×297mm) and A1 size (594×841mm), max. 30mm thickness;
Three-dimensional works: The length of 3 dimensions (length, width, height) added together must be 150cm or less, and weight must not exceed 5kg.
*After the selection, the winners will have to send to Italy the actual work(s) for the exhibition. (Such prize-winning works will not be returned to the winners afterward.)
Photo Data File Criteria
File format: must be in JPEG
Color Mode ：RGB
No. of Data File：max. 5 data per entry
Data Capacity ： must not exceed 10MB per data file
Image Size：640×480 pixels (can be vertically or horizontally long)
Resolution：at least 150dpi
Please note that up to 5 still images (no videos allowed) for each project can be submitted.
SELECTED PROJECTS AND PRIZES
First place (1 person per category)
Second place (2 persons per category)
Third place (5 persons per category)
-No winner shall be selected in case no entry meets the criteria.
Prizes
– 1st place: the participant with the best project will be able to attend one of the following courses* at Accademia Riaci from May 2026 to December 2026, in his/her related field, with TOTAL exemption from the payment of the 2026 enrollment fee and tuition fee
– 2nd place: one of the following courses* at Accademia Riaci from May 2026 to December 2026, in his/her related field, with 50% exemption from the total of enrollment fee and tuition fee
– 3rd place: one of the following courses* at Accademia Riaci from May 2026 to December 2026, in his/her related field, with 30% exemption from the total of enrollment fee and tuition fee
The competition’s winner will be able to attend one of the following courses:
– Art Short Course Standard (2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks)
– Art Short Course Intensive (2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks)
– Summer Intensive Course(2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks)
The course start date is from May 4, 2026 to November 30, 2026 and the course end date is from May 15, 2026 to December 11, 2026.
*Round-trip airfare, housing cost in Italy, course material fee and other fees/costs not mentioned in this Entry Guidelines otherwise, are not included.
*The International Art & Design Competition 2026 may advise the prized-winner to change his/her enrollment schedule or to change his/her major, in case the requested course has already reached the maximum number of students, or the requested course has not reached the minimum number of students, or in case the school has decided not to grant the requested course due to circumstances of the instructor or the school.
Student Reporter If a winner uses the awarded discount to enroll Accademia Riaci, he/she must become a Student Reporter and submit a weekly class report to the school.
For the detailed information about Student Reporter System, please refer to the below link.
(Please note that winners using the awarded discount are NOT subject to any additional scholarship.)
https://www.accademiariaci.info/support/scholarship/
CONTACT US
International Art & Design Competition 2026 Committee
c/o Accademia Riaci
Via De’ Conti 4, 50123 Firenze, Italia
The organizers accept your inquires via e-mail in Italian, English or Japanese. No telephone inquires will be accepted.
Email : comp2026@accademiariaci.info
FOR PARTICIPATION AND DETAILS, CHECK THE COMPETITION WEBSITE – PLEASE CLICK –