Anna Pigasiou was named as the winner of the inaugural Cyprus Students Prize, organised by the Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF), at an award’s ceremony at the Municipal University Library in Limassol on 4 April.
Her work, ‘Freedom of Expression’, was selected by an expert panel of judges following a week-long Finalists’ Exhibition at the library. Anna, aged 16, received a prize of €500, while a further €1,500 was awarded to her school, Lyceum Kykkos B’.
The Public Vote Prize, which was chosen by visitors to the Exhibition as well as online voters, was awarded to Sofia Mircheva, aged 18, for her artwork entitled ‘My Path to Balance’. She received a prize of €300, while a further €800 was awarded to The International School of Paphos.
The Cyprus Students Prize, which was open to all enrolled secondary school students in Cyprus, attracted over 100 entries and some 3,500 people voted in the Public Vote Prize.
The panel of judges was made up of Howard Bilton, Founder and Chairman of SAF, Efi Pilava, art teacher and Museum Educator at the State Gallery of Contemporary Art – Majestic, Dr. Evripides Zantides, Dean of the School of Fine & Applied Arts and Professor in Graphic & Visual Communication in the Department of Multimedia & Graphic Arts of the Cyprus University of Technology, and Vassilis Vassiliades, art teacher and curator of the Cyprus Art Biennale.
Speaking at the awards’ ceremony, Managing Director of Sovereign Trust (Cyprus) George Ayiomamitis said: “The Student Prize celebrates the importance of art. I would like to thank the young artists and their schools who enthusiastically accepted our proposal to take part in the competition. Congratulations are due to each and every one of them.”
The objectives of the Student Prize are to recognise the work of talented art students and exhibit their works to the public, to highlight the importance of art in the educational system, and to collaborate with local organisations that share SAF’s goal of promoting the arts in the community and encouraging cultural development.
The Sovereign Group, which is a leading independent global provider of corporate, private client and retirement planning services, this year celebrates 25 years of operations in Cyprus. The SAF was established as a registered charity in Hong Kong in 2003 with a vision of celebrating contemporary art talent while also raising funds to bring the therapeutic benefits of art to children in need.
Its uniquely innovative model is to stage regional art prizes that promote the work of contemporary artists. The works featured in these exhibitions are then sold, raising a significant amount for the artists and for SAF’s expressive arts programmes to support vulnerable children.
SAF currently as operates three annual regional art prizes – The Sovereign Asian Art Prize, The Norval Sovereign African Art Prize and The Sovereign Portuguese Art Prize – and has also built up a stable of 13 annual Students Prizes around the Sovereign Group’s global office footprint.
In addition to the Limassol Municipality and Cyprus University of Technology, for placing the event under their auspices, Sovereign Trust (Cyprus) is also indebted to IMH Media Group Cyprus for its excellent organisation and coordination, and all the event sponsors – Imperio Group, Sunset Gardens, Ernst & Young Cyprus, Bank of Cyprus, GMA Auditors and Fingers & More caterers – who embraced this initiative and helped make it possible.
