We would like to start by thanking over 100 of our collectors and supporters and send our congratulations to the amazingly talented 27 finalist artists, their friends and families who joined Gallery Directors Elinor Olisa and Isobel Beauchamp on Thursday 09th June 2022, at the Bankside Hotel for the announcement of the four winners of the 13th edition of the Signature Art Prize - the UK's original art prize dedicated to student and emerging artists.

The prize is made possible due to the support and partnership of Call Sign - the UK's leading cyber security company, the Aldridge Foundation - a British educational charity which focuses on creating social change and community regeneration opportunities for young people and the incredible Bankside Hotel - an independent hotel set on the culturally vibrant South Bank London, who create a social hub for anyone with a passion for culture, art and food.

Selected from over 350 international submissions, the highly collectable winners have been chosen by an expert panel of judges, including industry insiders, established artists and past winners, from the finalists in the mediums of Painting, Sculpture, Photography & Film and Drawing & Printmaking.

The winning entries this year provided a unique vantage point into how contemporary artists are considering and translating past, present and future themes of family, the pandemic, migration, diaspora and our physical presence in, and impact on, the world in true 'Signature Styles'.

THE 2022 CATEGORY WINNERS

THE DRAWING & PRINTMAKING
CATEGORY WINNER:

Jione Choi

Slade school of fine art, UCL, MFA Painting
'Anniversary in Silence'
190 × 125 × 1 cm
Graphite pencil on paper

"In this piece, I drew the moment of my parent’s 30th wedding anniversary. My parents couldn’t go to a restaurant or invite any guests over because of social distancing; instead, our family stayed at home and exchanged small gifts and cake for the anniversary. It was an important anniversary spent in silence." JIONE CHOI

Watch Jione Choi discussing her winning entry.

THE PAINTING CATEGORY WINNER:

Joshua Donkor
Cardiff Metropolitan University, Illustration
'Emmanuel, Ancestral Foundations'
50 × 70 × 4 cm
Oil and image transfers on board

"This is a portrait of my Father and was the starting point for my current body of work "Ancestral Foundations". It is painting exploring my Fathers connection to Ghana and how this relationship has changed through the years. He now finds himself at a point where he has lived more of his life in the UK than in Ghana. Yet his homeland and culture that he grew up with is still a huge part of his identity and something he clings onto. Within the painting are images from old family photo albums capturing images of his family and childhood memories as he is surrounded by gradually fading fragments from his past."JOSHUA DONKOR

Watch Joshua Donkor discussing his winning entry.

'The students and graduates we have the pleasure of promoting through this national art prize are presenting artworks created following a unique time in history. Through their individual practices and by sharing their personal motivations and messages, they have allowed us a unique view into their worlds, experiences, hopes and ambitions. Participating in a prize from the process of applying, being selected by the judging panel, through to getting your artwork exhibition ready for the gala presentation is no mean feat and is truly appreciated.' Elinor Olisa, Co-Founder

THE SCULPTURE CATEGORY WINNER:

Niko Kapa
Royal College of Art , Fine Arts
'Bond'
28 x 35 x 24 cm
Aluminum (medical mask nose strips bent on artist’s body)

"Inspired by ‘passivation’, aluminium’s ability to create a shield against corrosion, passivity is linked to themes of isolation and inactiveness during the long quarantine period and its impact. Drawing reference from protective medical masks forming a subordinate skin, I use the nose bridge strips holding it in place to shape an emptied version of myself. Elements shaped in immediate interchange with skin act as both extensions and limitations of physical body." NIKO KAPA

Watch Niko Kapa discussing his winning entry.

THE PHOTOGRAPHY & FILM CATEGORY WINNER:

Nigel Goldsmith
Bath Spa University, MA Fine Art
'Terminal'
Video

"Terminal explores the non stop movement of goods and machinery that drive the modern linear economy. Terminal has been screened at the Flatpack Film Festival, the Leeds International Film Festival and won the 2021 Zealous Digital Art Prize. Terminal is a digital art work and is sold in a series of 12" NIGEL GOLDSMITH

Watch Nigel Goldsmith discussing his winning entry.