Welsh Artist of the Year

The Welsh Artist of the Year award is an annual art competition in Cardiff's St David's Hall, open to amateur and professional artists who have a link to Wales. It has been running annually since 2000.

The competition has become a significant feature in the Welsh visual arts calendar, possibly due to the prestige associated with the title Welsh Artist of The Year. However the title's relationship with the actual competition structure could be seen as misleading, firstly because the selection process requires the artist to submit an application form and pay an entry fee (therefore only participating artists can be considered). The selection is also limited to one artwork per artist and that artwork is limited in size, rather than considering an artist's entire contribution for the year, which the title may suggest. A comparison with Cardiff's well resourced Artes Mundi prize may put the actual stature of Welsh Artist of the Year into perspective.

Prizes handed out in Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Photography, Applied arts categories as well as a Student prize. An overall winner and runner-up prize are awarded. Winners are chosen by a judging panel composed mainly of fellow artists, with the winner receiving a cheque for £2000.

Following the announcement of the winners in June an exhibition is held at St David's Hall, Cardiff, showing the prizewinners and shortlisted works.

The competition will not be held in 2014, as staff will be focusing their efforts on developing the "visual arts in the capital".

No competition

Winner: Sarah Ball (painting)
Runner-up: John Abell (printmaking)

Winner: Gemma Copp (video)
Runner-up: Aled Rhys Hughes (photography)

Winner: Paul Emmanuel (painting on sheep fleece)
Runner-up: Pamela Rawnsley (applied arts)

Winner: Elfyn Lewis (painting)
Runner-up: Emily Jenkins (sculpture)

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Wikipedia