Over its history so far, the Maľba competition has recorded nearly 2,000 submitted works and has presented 400 of them through public exhibitions. Independent juries have awarded a total of 51 talents, who have been added to the list of the most prominent names of modern creative work in our country. Through the competition, the VÚB Foundation has distributed a total of 430 thousand euros so far. Last year, the winning painter was competition debutant Paula Gogola.
“Since receiving the Maľba award, thanks to the financial prize I have been able to afford to experiment more with material and form. It allowed me to continue working smoothly and cover material costs, which are essential for artistic creation. I am especially grateful to the foundation for this opportunity,” says Paula Gogola, the painter who placed first in the competition in 2025 with her work Limerence.
Each year, the guarantor of the professional and independent evaluation of the submitted works is an international jury composed of leading visual artists, theorists, curators, gallerists and educators. The jury will assess the works in two rounds. By the beginning of summer, it will select a final twenty from the submitted paintings, and in autumn it will decide on three winners. They will receive prizes in the amounts of 5 000 €, 10 000 € and 15 000 €. The culmination of this year’s competition will again be an exhibition of the 20 finalist works, which the VÚB Foundation will organize for the public with free admission.
The competition is further expanding its reach.
In the currently announced edition of the Maľba competition, actively working painters up to 35 years of age with a university-level fine arts education in Slovakia can once again take part. With the aim of advancing relevant support for free and inclusive artistic creation, the organizer is offering, for the first time, the opportunity for young female and male painters from Ukraine to participate as well. This gives a chance to be seen by the world to authors who have obtained official refugee or asylum status in Slovakia and who study, or have studied in the past, at a Slovak university with a fine arts focus.
Registration for applicants for Maľba 2026 takes place via an online form at www.malba.nadaciavub.sk, where the conditions for submitting works and the competition statute are also provided. The application deadline is 24 May 2026.
