The summit beckons with the E.SUN Art Awards
If you’ve ever felt a landscape hold a melody in the wind, or a mountain peak pull you in, then your next work of visual art has a home in Taiwan. The E.SUN Art Awards 2026 has officially launched its global call for entries, and the stakes are as high as the summit they commemorate.
Organized by E.SUN Bank and its cultural foundation, the global call is a high-altitude invitation to translate the majesty of Mount Jade, or Yushan, into oil, acrylic, or gouache. And it’s open to those from Southeast Asia, the Philippines in tow.
The towering muse
The focus of the competition is Yushan, Taiwan’s crowning jewel and the highest peak in Northeast Asia. With shifting mists, ancient fir forests, and a height of 3,952 meters above sea level, the mountain is overflowing with subject matter to source inspiration, from the Formosan black bear to the Dragon Peak ridges that mimic the spine of a sleeping giant.
For the 2026 awards, E.SUN asks artists to look through two specific lenses: nature and music. So whether you opt to capture the silence of the alpine vegetation blooming with azaleas and junipers, or integrate musical elements like the crescendos of a mountain storm, the applicants’ goal is to bridge the gap between the environment and raw, emotional expression.
The first prize for international artists stands at a staggering $36,000, which translates to over P2,000,000. This is accompanied by a certificate and published collections of the winning works. It doesn’t stop at the top spot either, as there are special selection prizes at $18,000 and outstanding awards at $7,200 that accommodate a diverse range of voices and styles. So, for Filipino artists looking to catapult their work through funding and recognition, the open call is a rare platform for opportunity.
How to scale the summit
The application process is straightforward and fully digital for the preliminary round, making it easily accessible for artists across Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, and beyond. Submissions are open until July 17, 11:59 p.m. (Taipei Time), and must be executed in oil, acrylic, or gouache. Works should stay within the maximum dimensions of 72.5 x 91 cm, excluding frames.
To streamline the logistics for global participants, E.SUN Bank covers the framing costs for winning entries once the canvases are received in Taiwan, making sure the focus remains entirely on the art itself.
One person can submit only one entry. Taiwanese nationals can submit under the general public or student category, while Filipinos of any age can join under the foreigner category.
Since the competition’s beginnings in 2012, the E.SUN Art Awards has received 5,000 entries from 72 countries, showing how, despite speaking different languages, we all gaze at mountain peaks with the same sense of wonder. So if you have a vision inspired by the peaks, now is the time to pick up the brush.
Learn more at https://esunartawards.com/en/home/
