The award ceremony took place at the Nottingham Playhouse, where contestant had the chance to exhibit their work and collect their awards and prizes. The Young Creative Awards, a Nottingham-based competition, encourages locals aged between 11 and 24 to exhibit their work to the Nottingham community and opens doors to more opportunities.
This year's Young Creative Awards recognised 35 of our students from a variety of creative courses with seven of our students winning their categories!
The students' creative work spanned 9 out of the 10 categories, with a total of 35 students shortlisted in Creative Writing, Visual Arts, Film and Graphic Design. Our winners' categories were across Photography, Fashion and Textiles, Animation and Digital, Dance, Film and 3D Design and Architecture!
A huge congratulations are in order for our winning students!
Yudong (Daniel) Hou
Among the winners was Level 2 Creative Media student, Yudong Hou, for the 16-18 age range of the Photography category. Yudong submitted three photographs inspired by Chinese and Asian culture. The series of black and white images portrayed their grandmother and featured natural light, shadow, black and white low contrast tones.
The judges found the pieces to be "beautifully lit" and felt this helped "create a story of the person's life and interests" with "elegance and beauty".
Daisy Whitehead-Knight
Another winner, who had entered the 11-15 age group of the Fashion & Textiles category, was Daisy Whitehead-Knight. Daisy studies on our Pre 16 Art and Design course and the work she submitted was a bag made from recycled materials, which told a story and reflected on current social and environmental issues.
The judges "admired the commitment to reusing materials, making the piece both eco-conscious and creative."
Denise Favour Ayebo-Brown
For the 16-18 age group of the Animation and Digital Media category, another of our students, Denise-Favour Ayebayo Brown was announced as a winner. Denise-Favour, studying Level 2 Art and Design, created a short animation, titled "The Good With The Bad".
The judges "unanimously loved the style and innovation on show in the short" they felt the piece "used a selection of digital animation exceptionally well" and had a nostalgic feel "echoing classic Hanna Barbera/Pink Panther style animations".
Sofia Bell
Sofia Bell studies Level 3 Film and TV Production and was named the winner of the 16-18 Film category. The piece she entered was called "Ephemeral" and depicted themes of self love and worth with a heavy focus on coloured lighting to reflect emotions.
The judges said "Sofia has raw talent and is one to watch. The film is incredible engaging - every shot was perfectly framed adn the focus on point. Sofia is definitely one to look out for."
Sofia spoke to us about why she submitted her piece and said:
"I had never submitted my work to anything and I was quite proud of it so I wanted to give it a go. I also thought it would be good for other people to see the message too."
Harriet Birtwhistle
Harriet Birtwhistle won her category of 16-18 Visual Arts. The Level 4 Art and Design students submitted a painted portrait of a homeless man named Peter. The acrylic painting was done on cardboard rather than a canvas, to reinforce the message of the piece, which was the overlooked presence of homelessness in our communities.
The judges said "the work stands out not just fore its technical skill and expressive use of colour, but for it's commitment to social commentary."
We spoke to Harriet on the evening about how it felt to be shortlisted, she said:
"I entered before and it didn't really go anywhere so I was quite surprised when I got shortlisted this year. I was really excited because I'm not going to a university for art so it was cool to have an art project to do."
Jake Lamerton
Jake Lamerton won the 16-18 Architecture and Design category. Jake is studying our Level 3 Art and Design course and the work he entered was a wax piece of a figure either falling or rising depending on the viewers perspective. To accompany the sculpture was a series of three photographs showing the art in different settings, highlighting the different ways it could be viewed.
The judges noticed "many different emotions within the piece" and appreciated that they could "see the process and thought behind the crafting of the artwork, including the choice of materials used".
Jake spoke to us and said:
"I used the articulating small men models and used a wax melting kit to drip over it. I spent hours dripping around the figure so that I could peel him out and then attach him to the frame so it looks like he is falling or rising, depending on your perspective. It was really fun to make but it was a lot of hard work because of how delicate it is."
Our full list of shortlisted nominees:
Photography
Yudong Hou (winner)
Sam Williams
Lisa Horbach
Jazz Furber
Bethan Wakefield
Luke Smith
Fashion & Textiles
Daisy Whitehead-Knight (winner)
Torran Britain-Limb
Niamh O’Brian
Esme Hodgson
Maddie Clews
Creative Writing
Arran Bentley
Animation & Digital
Ibrahima Jawara
Samuel Perkins
Denise Favour Ayebayo Brown (winner)
Dance
Anatasia Roccioletti
Amira Pirvu
Keelan Green
Teegan Pearsall
Summer Salter
Lily Moore
Bradley Dutton
Kitty Alsopp
Film
Sophia Bell (winner)
Liam Dowson
Nathan Nazir
Graphic Design
Poppy White
Visual Arts
Harriet Birtwhistle (winner)
Lily Harris
Kyro Warburton
Liberty Price
3D Design & Architecture
Jake Lamberton (winner)
Lilia Edwards
Great Amenghashion
Amelia Riley
We also spoke with a few of our shortlisted students. Bradley Dutton, one of our performing art students submitted a solo dance piece, portraying anxiety and how that may look to some people. He spoke about the process of making the piece and said:
"It was really fun and exciting to be able to create the piece, perform and submit it to the Young Creative Awards. I was really happy when I found out I'd been shortlisted."
Another student who was shortlisted was Nathan Nazir who is studying Level 3 TV and Film with us. He created a film piece called "Broken" which portrayed mental health. He spoke about his work and said:
"It shows how you can feel too cramped and pressured. In the video there is a lot going on because it seems like you can't work out what's going on and you feel trapped all the time - I wanted to try and portray that and I think I managed. It's meant to look broken and like not everything is adding up and I used a lot of effects to show that."
Congratulations to all our shortlisted and winning students. Awards and competitions such as these present a fantastic opportunity to display the creativity, passion, and talent of our students not only to their friends and family but also to the wider community in Nottingham.
