Aesthetica Art Prize

Aesthetica Magazine is an international arts and culture publication with a growing readership of people working professionally in the arts. Based in York and with fantastic international contributions, the magazine is a great platform and a breath of fresh air in a sector that is sometimes overly London-focused.

Once again the magazine are now taking submissions for the Aesthetica Art Prize, which is an opportunity for artists to showcase their work and further their involvement in the international art world. Previous finalists include Bernat Millet, also shortlisted for National Portrait Gallery’s Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize and Julia Vogl, who was shortlisted for New Sensations: Saatchi Gallery and Channel 4’s Prize and has exhibited at Zabludowicz Collection.

The AAP is open to all artists and they are very interested to hear from students and graduates of University of the Arts. Along with the main prize, there is also a student prize open to all,and whether you are a first year or about to finish your post-graduate studies. Winners and shortlisted entrants will be rewarded from a portfolio of prizes that will act as a platform for emerging artists to establish themselves, here's what you need to know:

The deadline for entries is 31 August 2012.

Main Prize

• £1000 prize money
• A group exhibition in York, UK hosted by Aesthetica
• Editorial coverage in Aesthetica Magazine
• Publication in the Aesthetica Art Prize accompanying publication

Student Prize

• £500 prize money
• A group exhibition in York, UK hosted by Aesthetica
• Editorial coverage in Aesthetica Magazine
• Publication in the Aesthetica Art Prize accompanying anthology.

The Aesthetica Art Prize is committed to innovation in the arts and we welcome entries from artists working in all media. Artists may submit their work into any one of the four categories:

• Photographic & Digital Art
• Three Dimensional Design & Sculpture
• Painting & Drawing
• Installation & Performance

Four shortlisted artists and four shortlisted student artists (one from each category) will receive a group show in spring 2013 and the final winner will be selected from this shortlist by our panel of judges.

The Aesthetica Art Prize is a juried prize judged by the magazine's editor Cherie Frederico, Frances Guy ( Head of Collections & Exhibitions at the Hepworth Wakefield), Kate McGwire (Sculptor represented by All Visual Arts) and Neeta Madahar (Photographic, film and video artist represented by Purdy Hicks). The judges will select an overall winner from four shortlisted artists and will be looking for artwork that is engaging and innovative and that excites or challenges whilst demonstrating technical skill and ability.

The AAP is open to all artists internationally. There are no age requirements for the Aesthetica Art Prize and no formal qualifications needed. Art does not need to have been exhibited previously and previous exhibitions do not preclude your work from selection but work submitted must be available for an exhibition in the Spring of 2013. The winners and finalists, as well as a long list of artists will be published in the accompanying publication to the Aesthetica Art Prize. All artists featured will receive a complimentary copy of this publication.

It looks like the summer is going to be a wash out so why not hunker-down and create some work to enter into the competition?

For more information visit the Aesthica Art Prize page.