Saatchi Gallery and M&C Saatchi Group and has announced the six regional winners of their annual international art initiative, Art for Change Prize, which invited emerging artists from around the world to creatively respond to the theme of ‘Equality’ for the chance to win a grand prize of £10,000.
Art for Change Prize reignites access to art and culture amongst younger and underrepresented audiences, and in doing so aims to inspire a new, more diverse generation of creatives. With over 2,500 entries received from artists based in 130 countries within M&C Saatchi key global regions (UK, Europe, Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa), a winner from each location has now been carefully selected by some of the best business and creative minds from M&C Saatchi Group globally and a special selection of eminent guest judges.
M&C Saatchi Group and Saatchi Gallery are proud to announce the six regional winners:
- Africa Winner – Samuel Nnorom from Nsukka, Nigeria for his work After the Pandemic
- Americas Winner – Rachel Zhang from Pennsylvania, United States for her works The American Dream and Fruit Market in the Gvnt’s Garden
- Asia Winner – Sharon Cheung from Hong Kong for her Our Time series
- Australia Winner – Clare Jaque Vasquez from Queensland, Australia for her work The Hunter & Gatherer
- Europe Winner – Jaroslaw Lisicki from Wroclaw, Poland for his works Untitled and We
- UK Winner – Felix Chesher from London, England for this works Proximity and PrEP
Each winner in this non-for-profit initiative will receive a cash prize. The total prize fund of £20,000 will be split between the six regional winners, five to receive £2,000 each and one overall winner (due to be announced at the exhibition launch on the 7th December 2022) to receive £10,000. Additionally, all artists’ winning works will be exhibited in a dedicated exhibition at Saatchi Gallery, an iconic platform for contemporary art, from 8th December 2022 until 6th January 2023.
The competition was launched as part of a shared mission by M&C Saatchi Group and Saatchi Gallery in making art, culture, and creativity accessible to everyone. The aim is to highlight and stimulate dialogue around visual arts as an active medium for positive global and social change and give exposure to emerging artists worldwide.
“London is at the heart of the creative industry, but currently due to big Government funding cuts in the arts industry there have been significant drops in the numbers of people taking art at A Levels. This is having a direct impact on the creative industry and we’re currently facing a creativity gap which is also underpinned by Diversity and Inclusion challenges.”
Richard Thompson, M&C Saatchi UK Group Chairman
