Standing in The News Building at London Bridge last Thursday the view of London was extraordinary, but for once it paled in comparison to the wealth of talent on display inside the room. The judging for the Bridgeman Studio Award 2016 was an incredible mix of styles, media and the highest levels of creativity.
| Susie Doore The Borough Press & Claire Ward HarperCollins | Lucy Innes Williams & Charlotte Proctor Smith Bridgeman Studio |
From almost 1,000 entries from every corner of the globe our Bridgeman Studio team of Lucy Innes Williams and Charlotte Proctor Smith had their work cut out to create a shortlist. The eventual shortlist ended up with 80 entries from over 20 different countries….and the standard was exceptional.
| Rosie Garland – Author | Patrick Burgoyne – Editor Creative Review |
Judging this was not a quick process….
Rosie Garland (Author), Claire Ward (Creative Director Fiction and Non Fiction – HarperCollins), Susie Doore (Publishing Director – The Borough Press), Patrick Burgoyne (Editor – Creative Review), Victoria Bridgeman (CEO Bridgeman images) and Lucy Baxter (Commercial Director – CultureLabel.com) spent nearly three hours selecting and discussing the different entries trying to find a winner.
| Lucy Baxter – CultureLabel.com | Victoria Bridgeman & Patrick Burgoyne |
At stake was an incredible prize of a £1,000 commission for best-selling author Rosie Garland’s next title. Rosie was an absolute joy to be around and was so honoured by all the incredible entries. Every single artist who entered this year’s competition should be very proud as they made the decision very challenging.
| Author Rosie Garland with the winning entry | Winning artist – AITCH from Romania |
But there has to be a winner.
And what a winner she is! Aitch, An illustrator from Bucharest, Romania is the winner for the Bridgeman Studio Award 2016. Her style of work was captivating and jumped off the wall during judging with its playful, colourful illustrations which were full of depth and charm. Congratulations Aitch!
They came so close!
Three runners up that really came close to winning the BSA2016 this year were Robert Hunter, Isabel Grosse Holtworth and Mary Kuper who each will receive a £50 gift voucher from CultureLabel.com and a selection of books from HarperCollins.
Due to the overwhelming response to the 2016 Bridgeman Studio Award we will be making further announcements for some of the artists who were chosen by each of the sponsor brands and judges. Which brand would you have liked to been chosen by?