Mia Buckley, a student of Bruce College, has taken home a national age category prize from the National Gallery of Ireland. Mia was announced as the winning portrait in the 16-18 year-old category of the Zurich Young Portrait Prize competition at a virtual ceremony last night.
In her artist’s statement, Mia Buckley said, “With lockdown closing hairdressers, unexpectedly, Tudor ended up with long, gorgeous curls that I wanted to capture in a portrait. I loved investigating the colour, light and shadow that was portrayed across the skin of my model and the autumnal tones within his curls.”
The judges for the Zurich Young Portrait Prize were visual artist Aideen Barry; artist, art teacher and activist Joe Caslin; and Tadhg Crowley, Senior Curator: Education + Community at the Glucksman.
The Zurich Young Portrait Prize exhibition, featuring Mia’s portrait alongside 19 other shortlisted works, is now open at the National Gallery of Ireland. It will run until April 3rd 2022, alongside the Zurich Portrait Prize exhibition of 24 shortlisted portraits. Both exhibitions will travel to Crawford Art Gallery in Cork in 2022.
Find out more at www.nationalgallery.ie.

Mia Buckley at the Zurich Young Portrait Prize exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland with her portrait and sitter Tudor Albu. Photo Abe Neihum.