Aesthetica Art Prize Announces £5,000 for the Main Prize Winner

The Aesthetica Art Prize is a celebration of excellence in art from across the world and offers artists the opportunity to showcase their work to wider audiences and further their involvement in the international art world. This year the Main Prize winner, as chosen by an impressive panel of judges including curators, artists and the Editor of Aesthetica Magazine, Cherie Federico, will be awarded £5,000 prize money courtesy of Hiscox – presenting career-boosting opportunities for the artist.

The prize of £5,000 will kick-start an artist’s chance to produce new works, connect to a wider international audience and contribute to current discussions in contemporary art. The Art Prize recognises the importance of new and innovative artwork that has a message to convey; it inspires, debates, questions or reflects the world in which we live, and it thrives on the engagement and interaction with the audience.

The winner and finalists will be given stunning editorial coverage in Aesthetica Magazine, which has a readership of 168,000 worldwide and will also be published with the longlisted artists in the accompanying exhibition catalogue, the Aesthetica Art Prize Anthology – distributed in major UK galleries.

Last year’s winner of the Aesthetica Art Prize, Sybille Neumeyer (Song for the Last Queen) comments on the opportunities presented for engaging with new audiences: “I was excited to be chosen as one of the eight finalists and I feel honoured because it means that I’m reaching more people. It’s important not only for an artist to have a message but equally to have ways of connecting with people too.”

Judge for the Aesthetica Art Prize and Director of Aesthetica Magazine Cherie Federico says: “We recognise that there is great value in supporting emerging artists and are delighted we are able to offer the substantial prize of £5,000. It is a rare opportunity for artists at this stage in their career to receive this sum of money in addition to a group exhibition and publication in an anthology of 100 top international artists. The Art Prize will support their continued development and their progression in the art world internationally.”

Judges will be looking for artwork that is engaging and innovative and that excites or challenges whilst demonstrating technical skill and ability. Artists may submit their work into any one of the four categories: Photographic & Digital Art; Three Dimensional Design & Sculpture; Painting & Drawing, and Video, Installation & Performance.

A longlist of 100 artists will be selected, from which eight finalists and then two winners (Main Prize winner and Student Prize winner) will be chosen. The finalists will be featured in a group exhibition in spring 2015 and the winners will be announced at the exhibition opening.

In addition to the £5,000 for the Main Prize winner, prizes include; £1,000 Student Prize; group exhibition for eight finalists; publication for 100 longlisted artists in the Aesthetica Art Prize Anthology; editorial coverage for finalists in Aesthetica Magazine; up to £250 art supplies vouchers courtesy of Winsor & Newton, and five art books courtesy of Prestel.

Previous finalists include Ingrid Hu, former designer at the Lubetkin-winning Heatherwick Studio; Julia Vogl, also shortlisted for New Sensations – Saatchi Gallery and Channel 4′s Prize and has exhibited at Zabludowicz Collection; Marcus Jansen, a leading modern expressionist who joined a legacy of artists by featuring in Absolut Vodka’s artistic campaigns, and Bernat Millet, also shortlisted for National Portrait Gallery’s Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize.

Organised by Aesthetica Magazine, in partnership with York Museums Trust, the Aesthetica Art Prize exhibition takes place at York St Mary’s – York Art Gallery’s contemporary art space. The Aesthetica Art Prize Anthology is published by Aesthetica Magazine. Aesthetica Art Prize partners and sponsors include: Hiscox, York St John University, The Hepworth Wakefield, Prestel and Winsor & Newton.

The call for entries is now open until 31 August. Categories for entry: Photographic & Digital Art; Three Dimensional Design & Sculpture; Painting & Drawing, and Video, Installation & Performance. For more information and to submit visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/artprize.

Credits
1. Ingrid Hu, Longplayer, 2013. Finalist in the Aesthetica Art Prize.

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