Winners announced of the inaugural Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prize Chester, 2023

The Sovereign Art Foundation were thrilled to host the inaugural SAF Students Prize Chester 2023 Awards Ceremony on 22 November in Chester Cathedral, which was well attended by the shortlisted artists, their teachers and community and business representatives from the local community.

Congratulations to Emily Peacock, Judge’s Prize Winner of the SAF Students Prize, Chester 2023 with her painting, ‘The Blue Bridge’. Emily wins £800 and £2,000 for her school art department at Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College. Emily’s teacher and Head of Art and Design, Simon Davies collected the cheque on behalf of the school.

Emily said: “I completed this piece as part of my first year Art A-level and it features Hartley Bridge, which I cross regularly. I was drawn to all the clean lines and angles it has. Lots of people have asked if it is a photograph and are surprised it is a painting. Simon said “watching Emily paint this picture was amazing. It only took small words of encouragement and direction to see her strike on with confidence. The painting of the bolts on the bridge almost proved to be one detail too far but again she was able to master the processes needed to great effect. With the prize money, we are seriously considering investing in some sort of improvement in our ability to put on an end of year show for all the amazing work that we produce”.

We also congratulate the Public Vote Prize winner Emma Powell, who won with ‘Watching Autumn’. Emma received £400 and £1,000 for her school art department, Tarporley High School and Sixth Form College. Emma was joined by her art teacher James Bowland who commented: “It is wonderful to see investment being put into the arts and SAF recognising the central role art plays in society and the lives of young people. It was an honour for our students to exhibit their work in Chester Cathedral as exhibiting artists and for Emma to be a successful recipient of the Public Choice award is a tremendous accolade and reflection of her creative talent. The prize money will make a significant contribution towards developing our art department as we look to purchase a kiln.”

The Ceremony was hosted by Stuart Stobie, MD of Sovereign Corporate & Trustee Services (SCATS). Judge Jim Wheat presented the Judge’s Prize Winner, advising that “creativity takes courage…everyone is an artist whatever your age”. SCATS Director, Josephine Rocca presented the Public Vote Prize Winner.

SCATS also awarded a special commendation of £250 to Samuele Giavedoni, also of Sir John Deane’s Sixth Form College for his painting ‘Lisa’ which also scored very highly.

The judging panel for this year’s prize comprised internationally renowned artists and sculptors David Mach and Kevin Francis Gray; Louise Shannon, Head of Programming at Tate Liverpool, Jim Wheat, Artist and Founder of Dollars & Art and Howard Bilton, Founder and Chairman of SAF.

The SAF Students Prizes recognise the work of talented secondary-school level art students around the world and exhibit their work to a wide and engaged audience. They also celebrate the importance of art in the education system, rewarding successful secondary-school art programmes to the benefit of a greater number of students.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF). During this time, SAF has been running art prizes that recognise, support and promote contemporary art talent in both professional artists and students of art throughout the world. SAF has raised over US$11 million for artists and to fund programmes that bring the therapeutic benefits of art to children – we firmly believe that art plays a vital role in fostering creativity and developing self-confidence within young children.

SAF runs 11 Student Prizes around the world and the Chester edition is the newest to the portfolio, joining this year. The winners of the Judges and Public Vote Prizes in Chester will be automatically entered into the annual SAF Global Students Prize in 2024, showcasing their talent on an international stage and facilitating cultural exchange and dialogue.

SAF are grateful to venue partner Chester Cathedral and for support from Tax Natives and Benham Publishing.