Young local artists amongst shortlist for Sovereign Art Foundation Global Student Prize 2022

The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) have announced the shortlist of the 2022 global edition of their annual art prize for secondary school students, with £4,300 in grants on offer for winning artists and their schools.

Among the talented young artists vying for the title of ‘Global’ winner are the winners from The SAF Students Prize Gibraltar 2021: India Borge and Sofia Hillman Rota, both of Prior Park School.

Launched in Hong Kong in 2003, SAF is a non-profit organisation that promotes contemporary art talent through its international art prizes, while raising funds for various charitable programmes.

The Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prizes run in 10 countries and are designed to celebrate the importance of art in the education system by identifying talented young artists and rewarding successful secondary-school art programmes to the benefit of a greater number of students.

The Sovereign Art Foundation Global Students Prize will see 14 artworks by students from Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, London, Malta and Gozo and Mauritius, united in an online exhibition.

These finalists were previously named winners in their respective regions during 2021, being selected either by a local judging panel or cinching the popular vote from members of the public.

From this worldwide selection, one Global Judges’ Prize will be awarded to the student selected by a jury comprised of noted professionals, including: Catalina Swinburn, Chilean visual artist, Howard Bilton, Founder and Chairman of SAF; Sara Mao, Director of Christie’s Education Asia; Tiffany Pinkstone, Executive director of SAF and Tim Marlow, Chief Executive and Director, Design Museum, London.

The public will also be invited to vote for their favourite work, with the most popular piece to receive the title of Global Public Vote Prize Winner.

Votes can be cast online until 6pm GMT, January 28, 2022.

This global competition facilitates cultural exchange between nations, showcasing artworks by the most talented and promising students from across the world.

The online exhibition runs until 31 January, when the winners will be announced, also online.

The shortlisted entries include: Archibald McCombie from London, Bibi Zaheerah Banu Toorabally from Mauritius, Emilia Gasinska from Isle of Man, Fasihah Haseeb from London, Hsu Ching Wai Harue from Hong Kong, India Borge from Gibraltar, Megan Griffin from Isle of Man, Naveniten Valleeamah from Mauritius, Nip Tin Yan from Hong Kong, Olivia Roze from Guernsey, Rana Sanugha from Malta, Sofia Hillman Rota from Gibraltar, Tim Neal from Guernsey and Ylenia Schembri from Malta.