Creative Graduate Prize

In increasingly trying times the Creative Graduate Prize stands as a glimmer of hope for emerging artists and image makers, providing an opportunity to kick-start a career, present work to a jury of creative luminaries and win a fair share of prizes in the process. Interested? Read on…


Established in 2005 by Medium Magazine, an online publication dedicated to emerging creativity, along with visionary think tank Societas, the Creative Graduate Prize has established a roster of talented and exciting new artists. Divided into three categories, the ‘Static Art Prize’ (anything 2D – painting, graffiti, photography, illustration), the ‘Moving Art Prize’ (animation, film) and the ‘Installation Art Prize’ entrants are encouraged to display vision, diversity and innovation whilst keeping to this year’s fitting theme of ‘Change’.

Last year’s theme of identity yielded a number of talented entries. The winner of the Static Art Prize, Canadian Edith Maybin, presented a collection photographs displaying a whimsical inter- play between mother and daughter, whilst the winner of the Moving Art Prize in the same year, Carlo Pott, combined illustration and animation into a surreal exploration of the quest to fit in, entitled ‘Wolf On Door’. With Pott now providing images for publications in a variety of countries, such as Canadian media magazine ‘Blitz’ and Italian magazine ‘Umbigo’, the ‘Creative Graduate Prize’ is a stepping stone to long term success. The winners of other categories have gone on to build a career based around this early success, testament to the competitions diversity and global scale.

The overall winner will receive a £5000 ‘Key 2 Luxury’, which unlocks a lifetime of VIP access to swanky restaurants, free champagne, hotel upgrades and a veritable cornucopia of luxury offers. With notable key holders including Madonna, Daniel Craig and Eva Herzigova, you will certainly be in good company. As well as this, the winner’s work will also feature in an editorial for Medium Magazine, enjoy coverage here on jotta.com, and with the prize being supported by hub for creativity, Creativepool and online magazine, Eye Petrol the winner will have an opportunity to show off their work to a broad array of creative individuals. Furthermore, the jury consists of a range of influential creative professionals including contemporary artists Stuart Semple and Tessa Farmer, Penny Martin of the London College of Fashion, photographer Ellis Scott, sculptor Lone Sigurdsson known for her collaborations with Hussain Chalayan and award-winning creative director Justin Champney.

All entries must be submitted by Friday 30th October 2009 and the winners will be announced in November. Good luck!

For more information visit www.mediummagazine.net/cgp2009.html.

by Jack Moss