The Sketch for Survival Junior 2026 Longlist

Explorers Against Extinction

Sketch for Survival

Lower Farm Barns

Lessingham Road

Happisburgh

Norfolk NR12 0QQ

UK

Contact:

info@realworldconservation.org.uk

+44 (0) 1692 218189

Sending your artwork rolled in a cardboard tube is the easiest and often most economical way to send it to us.

If you are sending your artwork flat please read the following tips to ensure it arrives looking pristine!

We recommend recycling some stiff cardboard from a box  – the card should be slightly larger all around than your artwork.  Place your artwork in between two pieces of card to make a sandwich. This will protect the corners and stop it from being creased. You can use two pieces of tape (preferably paper tape if you have it) to secure the card at each end – this is all that is required. Place the whole thing in a (recycled) envelope or packet and send it to us using the appropriate postal service or courier.

Please think of the environment and try to avoid using plastic.

We recycle as much packaging as we can so please don’t get carried away with the tape – it just takes us longer to open the parcel and makes it challenging to recycle.

We open lots of parcels and we really enjoy all the amazing envelope art, notes and cards people include – thank you for taking the time to do this. We usually open parcels on one day a week and we share pictures on our Instagram Story where possible. Once we have opened your parcel we send you an email to confirm.

Couriers can be expensive.

For that reason,  we usually give up one month to send your artwork to us.  If you use the regular postal/mailing service in your country then the cost should not be too great. If you have friends taking part you can send your artworks together in one parcel and share the cost.

Please take care packaging your artwork – we recommend sending it rolled in a cardboard tube, or flat sandwiched between some stiff cardboard to prevent the edges from getting damaged – you can recycle cardboard from a box or packet and place your artwork between two pieces to protect it on its journey.

Please try and avoid using plastic and if you do use plastic, please think of the environment and use it sparingly! Thank you.

Please list the contents of your parcel as a document.

Please see other notes below as needed:

Customs 

If you have listed your contents as a document then there will be no customs to pay and the process is very simple.

If you list your contents as an artwork or child’s artwork it can be more complicated. Please specify ‘donation to charity’, and if asked to provide a value on the customs form, we recommend you provide a nominal value, purely to cover the material cost (up to about $25 is reasonable) otherwise we will be charged import tax/duty to receive your parcel.

ID and contact numbers

Our registered UK charity number is 1212387 (if you need it).

Our EORI (Economic Operators Registration and Identification) number is GB025052069000

Our address: Explorers Against Extinction, Sketch for Survival Junior, Lower Farm Barns, Lessingham Road, Happisburgh, Norfolk NR12 0QQ UK

Our telephone number: +44 1692 218189

Charity contact name: Sara White, Trustee

Thank you.

Using reference material is a normal and important part of learning and developing as an artist. Many artists study wildlife photography, professional artworks and imagery found online or through social media as part of their creative process.

However, for competition purposes, we strongly encourage entrants to develop their own ideas, compositions and interpretations wherever possible. Originality, creativity and personal storytelling are important factors within the judging process, particularly at longlist and finalist stage.

If your artwork has been significantly influenced by or closely based on an existing artwork, photograph or online image, please acknowledge the original source when sharing your work publicly and include a note when submitting your artwork to the competition. This helps us maintain fairness within the competition while also encouraging good artistic practice and respect for fellow creators.

Please note that direct copies or heavily reproduced compositions are less likely to progress through the final stages of judging than original compositions inspired by your own ideas and observations.

If your artwork has been declared as a digital work on your submission form then you need to print your artwork in A3 or A4 size as per the competition guidelines. Please take care not to distort the artwork. Please use good quality printing paper. Please hand-sign the front and print your name (and age if a Junior) on the back. By printing your digital artwork, and hand-signing it you are validating the work as an original by you. AI works are not permitted.

Regrettably we are unable to print digital entries for you.

No you do not. You send the artwork to us as it is. Please protect your artwork in the post – we find a stiff piece of cardboard works very well, or rolled and sent in a tube.

Your artwork should fulfil the size guidelines provided on the competition page (A3 or A4 size). Once selection is complete we mount/frame the artworks as required.

Unfortunately if your artwork is much bigger or much smaller than specified then it will be discounted from selection. If your artwork is not in the right size range then it would be better not to send it to us and for you to enjoy it at home instead.

If you artwork is a box frame or on a canvas stretcher it will not be eligible.

To check the restrictions please see the competition pages:

Juniors

Adults

Please sign your artwork on the front (usually the bottom right hand corner). Please print your name (and age if a Junior artist) on the back.

If you are one of our junior artists, or a parent of a junior artist:  if the child is able to write their name, sign or initial the front then that’s great but please don’t worry if not. Please do make sure that the artist’s name and age (not the parent’s name) and SCHOOL if applicable is printed clearly on the back so we can identify the piece easily when it arrives.

Yes we do. We open parcels once a week. These are logged and checked against your submission form. We then send a group email confirming safe receipt – this is sent to the registered email address (used on the original submission).

All the longlisted artworks will be kept safe at Explorer HQ.

The finalists’ art which is selected for the exhibition tour  (announced in September) will be included in our online fundraising auction which ends on Sunday 22 November. In most cases, starting bids for Junior works are £50-75 and senior works are £100 -£125 GBP with ALL PROCEEDS supporting our projects.

The artwork of the runners-up will be offered for sale both online and at our UK exhibition venues and events. At exhibitions/events they will be mounted and displayed for visitors to browse/buy. Please note, depending on the venue and the space available we sometimes have to rotate the selection – it is not always possible to have every single piece out at every venue/event.

For junior artists we will send an email when the artworks go on general sale to give parents an opportunity to buy the artwork – we appreciate some of the children are very attached to their pieces and we thank them for giving them up to support our projects. We will take good care of them. To give you some idea, last year the junior artworks in our shop were for sale from £25 upward, depending on various factors such as size and age category – we anticipate a similar pricing structure this year.

Parents may like to take a scan of their child’s artwork before they send it to us so that they have a back up option.