Phillips to Host The Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prize Finalist’s Exhibition 2021

Exhibition to go on View in Phillips Berkeley Square Galleries Alongside New Now this December

Phillips has partnered with The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) this December to present the second edition of the The Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prize, London. Established in 2012, The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) Students Prize is an annual award designed to celebrate the importance of art in the education system and recognise the quality of artworks produced by secondary school students citywide and this year it is generously supported by Praemium. As official venue partner of The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) Students Prize, Phillips will host the 20 shortlisted artworks in a Finalists Exhibition at Phillips London headquarters at 30 Berkeley Square, where it will run alongside New Now from 2 – 9 December 2021.

Tamila Kerimova, Specialist, Director, Head of Day Sale, 20th Century & Contemporary Art, said: “Phillips is delighted to partner with The Sovereign Art Foundation and honoured to host the London Students Prize Finalists’ exhibition for the second year in a row. The aim of our ongoing partnership is to celebrate the importance of art in schools and to support the Sovereign Art Foundation in their endeavours to champion young artists through the Student Prize. At Phillips, our goal is to discover and showcase extraordinary art and a huge part of that is encouraging the next generation to continue to nurture their creativity. As we saw in the exhibition last year, secondary-school students produce exceptional high-quality art, and their talents should be recognised and commended so they feel confident to pursue their passion for art. We look forward to welcoming visitors to view the Students Prize Finalists exhibition alongside our New Now auction highlights in our galleries on Berkeley Square this December.”

Ben Lester, Head of Distribution, UK and International at Praemium, commented on their support of the prize: “We strive to create a work environment where talent is nurtured and expression in all its forms is celebrated at Praemium. So, we’re delighted to support the Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prize London 2021 in nurturing and showcasing the incredible talent of London’s young artists. It’s an honour to be involved.”

Secondary schools across London were invited to nominate their best art students to digitally submit artworks to the competition. The finalists were selected from 136 entries by a judging panel comprising professionals from different facets of the art world, an exciting panel of judges including  Caroline Walker, Visual Artist, Eugenio Re Rebaudengo, Founder of ARTUNER, Howard Bilton, Founder and Chairman of SAF, Hugo Wilson, English Artist and Sculptor , Idris Khan, contemporary British artist, Kamiar Maleki, Director of Volta Art Fairs, Melanie Gerlis, Art market columnist for the Financial Times, and Tamila Kerimova, Specialist, Director, Head of Day Sale, 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Phillips.

The overall winner of The Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prize, London 2021 will be determined when the judging panel examine the shortlisted works in person at the Finalists Exhibition; selecting one student to be awarded the Judges’ Prize trophy and £800 (their school art department will receive £2,000). To boost public engagement and increase exposure for the students, exhibition visitors are also invited to cast a vote for their favourite finalist artwork to receive a Public Vote Prize trophy and £400 (and their school £1,000). Online votes will also be accepted from the general public via web gallery  with voting closing at 18:00hrs GMT on 6 December 2021. Furthermore, students can opt to enter their works into a silent auction - the proceeds of which are split between the artist and Foundation. This year SAF have selected Place 2 Be, a children’s mental health charity, to receive any funds raised. 

SAF runs ten Student Prizes around the world, the first of which was established in 2012 in Hong Kong, followed by Bahrain, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Malta, Mauritius, Portugal and Singapore. The winners from London will go up against the winners from the other prizes in contention for the Global Students Prize. 

Visiting Information

Exhibition period:                     2 –9 December 2021

Opening hours:                        Monday – Saturday, 10am–6pm; Sunday, 12pm-6pm

Venue:                                     Phillips, 30 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6EX

Admission:                              Free

Press Kit

Click here to view and download the artwork images. All images please credit the artist and The Sovereign Art Foundation.

Facebook: SovereignArtFoundationStudentsPrizes

Instagram: @safstudentsprize | @sovereignartfoundation

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