Grantee Young London Print Prize announces winning entry from Tower Hamlets

• Poplar pupil, aged 10, wins city-wide climate art prize
• Winners revealed on the Piccadilly Lights

London, 25 October 2023: A 10 year-old pupil from Tower Hamlets has grabbed first prize ahead of nearly 2,000 young artists from 34 schools in this year’s Young London Print Prize, a project supported by our Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, backed by Westfield Stratford City.  The competition invited young Londoners between the ages of 9 and 11 to express their personal response to the climate crisis through the art of printmaking.

The winning entry by Afsana Miah from Lansbury Lawrence Primary School depicts a jellyfish drifting in the ocean. Entitled ‘Alone, Darkness’, it was made using mono printing with lino blocks. Second prize went to Hanna Jelonkiewicz for her artwork called The Crashing World and third prize to Jayden Rodriguez Kent from his print titled The Beetle Bug.

Young Londoners find their voice through climate art

Seven out of 10 of Britain’s young adults (16 to 24-year-olds) feel ‘worried’ about climate change. But only 9% of this age group believe they have a great deal of influence in decisions  about it. The Young London Print Prize was launched to help address this. It aims to inspire the next generation of artists and reveal how young people feel about the climate crisis. Pupils learn how to make prints and prepare their own climate-themed submission to the Prize. All the  artworks in the competition are judged by a team of 16 – 17 year old student curators from across London. No adult makes any of the decisions.

The winning prints are being displayed on the full 780m2 screen of the Piccadilly Lights – an iconic landmark seen by 100 million people passing through Piccadilly Circus annually– at 12pm on Wednesday 25 October. They will then be exhibited alongside some of Britain’s best loved contemporary artists, including Cornelia Parker and Bridget Riley, at Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair from 26 to 29 October.

Maria Adebowale-Schwarte, CEO of Foundation for Future London, said:

“The Foundation for Future London is pleased to support the Young London Print Prize for a second year through our Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, backed by Westfield Stratford City.

“Ensuring young people’s voices about climate change are heard is crucial. And creativity goes hand in hand with this. This is vital to transforming the world into a better place for all, particularly in East London where higher demographics of Black and ethnically diverse people and communities are affected by pollution, lack of green space and other climate issues.

“We are thrilled with the results of the competition. Congratulations to everyone who took part and the winning entry!”

London’s Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Shirley Rodrigues, said:

“Art has the power to engage with people of all ages and motivate us to do more to tackle the climate emergency. It’s fantastic to recognise so many talented young people and take inspiration from their artistic impressions of climate change. Let this be further encouragement to do everything in our power to tackle the climate crisis and build a fairer, greener city for all Londoners.”

Matt Bell, Chair of Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair and Co-Founder of the Young London Print Prize, commented:

“These young arts are showing us a future full of colour and hope. Their response to climate change isn’t bleak or depressing. They’re not on the side of motorists or pushing back on zero carbon targets. They can visualise a world where we live well and heal the planet.”

Cllr Adel Khaireh, Cabinet Member for Equality, Culture and Communities at the Royal Borough of Greenwich, where the Prize is hosted, commented:

“Congratulations to the brilliant  winners of the Young London Print Prize and the young curators who took on the tough task of  judging the entries.”“Born in Woolwich, this competition gives young creatives from all backgrounds an opportunity to exhibit their work alongside international artists and feel empowered to reach their full potential. Young people are our future and their unique interpretations of climate change serve as inspiration to us all to come together and protect the world we live in.”

The Young London Print Prize is run by Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, with support from Anthesis, Peabody, the Foundation for Future London and Westfield Stratford City, Landsec, the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster City Council, the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Boodle Hatfield LLP, Lefranc Bourgeois, and Forster Communications.

For more information, please visit woolwichprintfair.com/young-london-print-prize