The Young Masters Art Prize 2012 has opened for submissions and artists have until April 2012 to submit their work via their website (www.youngmasters. co.uk)
The Young Masters Art Prize is a unique, not-for-profit bi-annual competition open to international and UK-based artists who combine innovation with awareness of the Old Masters and art of the past. It aims to give global recognition to artists in the early stages of their career. Applications are welcomed from a wide range of media: painting, sculpture and installation, printmaking, drawing, video and sound.
The Young Masters Art Prize is the brainchild of London-based gallerist, Cynthia Corbett. It first launched in 2009 and the joint winners that year were American artist collaborative Ghost of a Dream (Lauren Was and Adam Eckstrom) and Hector de Gregorio, a Spanish artist based in London. Ghost of a Dream launched the Call to Artists for the 2012 prize at the London Art Fair, with their installation this is it exploring cultural obsessions for opulence and the consumer dream.
This year’s prize will be curated by Russian-born Daria Khan.The judging panel includes art historian Godfrey Barker (Chair); Colin Wiggins, Special Projects Curator, National Gallery, London; Roy Bolton, art historian and Director of Sphinx Fine Art; Adam Dant, winner of the 2002 Jerwood Drawing Prize; the Belgian collector Alain Servais; Anke Adler-Slottke, Director, Christie’s International; and Ghost of a Dream.
Daria Khan and the judges will draw up a shortlist of 15–20 artists, who will be announced in June to coincide with a fundraising event in London, where previous Young Masters participants will be exhibiting. The awards ceremony and main exhibition will take place at the end of November at Gallery 27,Cork Street; the exhibition will also be hosted at Sphinx Fine Art, Kensington. The 2012 winner will receive £5,000 and, alongside the shortlisted artists, will have the opportunity to exhibit in special projects throughout 2013.The Artists’ Collecting Society is offering £500 for each of the two highly commended artists with advice to all the shortlisted artists on artists’ copyright and how to market their art. The three winning artists will also have the opportunity to hold some selected images at the Bridgeman Art Library.
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