RBC announces call for entries for 12th Annual RBC Canadian Painting
Competition

$55,000 awarded to emerging Canadian artists in largest competition of its kind in Canada

TORONTO , Feb. 10 /CNW/ - RBC, with the support of the Canadian Art Foundation, today announced the call for entries for the 2010 RBC Canadian Painting Competition. Entries must be submitted by May 3, 2010 .

Winners will be announced September 29, 2010 with the national winner receiving a purchase prize of $25,000 and two honourable mentions each receiving purchase prizes of $15,000 . Semi-finalists in the competition will see their work displayed at prominent Canadian art galleries and featured in Canadian Art magazine.

"The RBC Canadian Painting Competition has revealed some of Canada's emerging talent who may not have been discovered otherwise," said Ann Webb , Executive Director, Canadian Art Foundation. "As one of the longest running competitions in Canada with the largest cash prize, the RBC Canadian Painting Competition is something that the Canadian art community looks forward to every year."

RBC has worked closely with the Canadian Art Foundation to deliver a professional competition that continues to grow in stature. The Canadian Art Foundation oversees the adjudication process, allowing the works to be judged by a select panel of distinguished members of the visual arts community.

Details and rules of the competition may be found at www.rbc.com/paintingcompetition. The submitted works will be short-listed to 15 semi-finalists by independent panels of regional judges. All regional jurors come together late September in Toronto to determine one national winner and two honourable mentions. On September 29 , the 2010 winner will be announced and all 15 paintings will be on exhibit at the Power Plant in Toronto . All finalists will be featured in Canadian Art magazine and on the web at www.rbc.com/paintingcompetition and www.canadianart.ca.

About the RBC Canadian Painting Competition

Established in 1999, the RBC Canadian Painting Competition is a tribute to Canada's artistic talent. The goal of the competition is to support and nurture Canadian visual artists early in their career by providing them with a forum to display their artistic talent to the country and hopefully open doors to future opportunity. An investment in Canadian culture and the visual arts community, the competition will award one national purchase prize of $25,000 and two honourable mentions will receive purchase prizes of $15,000 each. Along with past winners, the winning paintings of 2010 will become part of RBC's Canadian art collection comprised of more than 4,000 works of distinguished art collected over the past hundred years. Various paintings from the RBC collection have been exhibited in museums, enabling more Canadians to enjoy these wonderful works.

For further information: Media contact: Matt Gierasimczuk, RBC Media Relations, [phone]; Artist contact: Deborah Dexter, RBC Canadian Painting Competition, [phone]