Theo Paphitis
London Graphic Centre (LGC) recently held an opulent judging and awards ceremony for the LGC Art Prize 2023 finalists, a competition supported by TV Dragon and Owner of LGC Theo Paphitis, at its iconic Covent Garden store. LGC is delighted to exclusively share the winners of the LGC Art Prize – Tom Mead, Yael Aliza and Ava Rourke.
The LGC Art Prize 2023 garnered an overwhelming level of interest and engagement from all corners of the artistic and creative community, receiving nearly 1,000 artist submissions and 8,000 votes from members of the public in the People’s Choice Award.
Throughout the competition, and during the judges’ evening, Head Judge Theo Paphitis was joined by Kate Brinkworth, Tom Croft, Brian Reed and Jayne Kay – all of whom brought with them a diverse breadth and depth of experience to the esteemed judging panel.
On supporting creatives, TV Dragon and Owner of LGC, Theo Paphitis said: “The entries into this year’s LGC Art Prize have been inspiring, and it was interesting to see how entrants incorporated their unique understanding of the competition’s theme ‘Connections’ into their submissions.
Art and creativity are part of the fabric of our society, and the sheer depth and creativity of this year’s entries is a fine testament to that. That’s why I was delighted to support this year’s LGC Art Prize, a competition that not only rewards budding artists and creatives but one which also gives artists across the UK a platform to showcase their work.”
The LGC Art Prize, People’s Choice Award and The One to Watch Award were the three coveted prizes up for grabs – adding to a combined cash and prize value of £10,000.
Eleven artworks were shortlisted for the LGC Art Prize final, and in what proved to be a challenging judging process amidst such high-quality entries, the winners of the LGC Art Prize were:
Tom Mead was crowned winner of the LGC Art Prize, winning £5000 in cash, a £500 voucher from Liquitex, Winsor & Newton and a £500 voucher from Pebeo.
On being named the Judge’s Winner, Tom said: “Just to be shortlisted for the LGC Art Prize was amazing on its own – and to find out that I’ve won means so much to me and feels like a really big step. I’d definitely recommend the LGC Art Prize to other artists because it’s free to enter, which is quite rare for an art competition.”
Yael Aliza was bestowed winner of the People’s Choice Award by the public, winning £2,000 in cash, £250 worth of materials from LGC and a £250 voucher from Liquitex, Winsor & Newton.
Ava Rourke was named The One to Watch, winning £500 in cash, £100 worth of materials from LGC, a £100 voucher from Liquitex, Winsor & Newton and mentoring from a CityLit tutor.
On winning the One to Watch award, Ava said: “I’m still in shock that I was shortlisted – let alone won a prize! I was inspired to do my artwork when I was going through my drawers and found some old scratchboard that I hadn’t used since I was a child, and I felt a ‘connection’ to it, after that the piece developed freely. Winning the mentoring from CityLit is incredibly exciting.”
