The Sovereign Art Foundation’s (SAF) 2025 Bahrain Students Prize raised an incredible USD1.8 million for charity after a Gala Dinner fundraising event on 30 April at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports [The 2025 Bahrain Students Prize | Gala Dinner].
Featuring young artists from every stage of Bahrain’s education system, the five Students Prizes were won by Raghad Al Khatib from International School of Choueifat (Category 1 – Lower Elementary), Hoor Moayed Abduljalil from Gifted Students Centre – MOE (Category 2 – Upper Elementary), Aina Shahid from Al-Noor International School (Category 3 – Middle School), Sophia Noor from the British School of Bahrain (Category 4 – High School), and Yasser Saeed Ahmed from University of Bahrain. Additionally, Shaikha Ahmed Al-Khalifa from SH.Hessa Girls School (Category 3) won the Public Vote Prize.
The Prize received exceptional media coverage, featuring prominently in all major Bahraini newspapers and highlighted by the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) and Bahrain TV, and the remarkable total was thanks in great part to the sums raised by the auctioning of the finalists’ works. Congratulations to all the winners, and a huge thank you to everyone who made this event possible!
SAF’s Students Prizes are annual awards that celebrate the vital role of art in education and recognise exceptional artworks by secondary school students worldwide. Launched in 2012 in Hong Kong, the initiative has expanded to include prizes in locations like Bahrain, Chester, Cyprus, Gibraltar and more.
School teachers nominate talented students to submit artwork online. A judging panel of local art professionals then shortlists the 20 best artworks for exhibition in a public space. The judges then complete a round of in-person judging at the Finalists Exhibition and select one artwork to be awarded the Judges’ Prize.
To optimise engagement, the general public are also invited to cast a vote online or in person at the Finalists Exhibition for their favourite shortlisted artwork. The most popular artwork will receive the Public Vote Prize. The winning students receive cash prizes and trophies, while their school art departments also receive cash grants to be used to for the wider benefit of all students and their creative pursuits.
A recent winner said: “Winning the Gibraltar Students Prize meant a lot to me because it showed that my work is of a good standard and is appreciated by top professionals in the sector. I am excited to use the winnings to invest in more practice and more advanced materials to continue learning and become skillful.”
The shortlisted artworks are then sold through silent auction, at the discretion of each student. The sales proceeds are split equally between the student and SAF’s charitable programmes, which bring the therapeutic benefits of art to disadvantaged children through expressive arts workshops, so they can live full and creative lives.
Other Students Prize exhibitions and awards recently staged by SAF have also provided fantastic opportunities for community engagement in celebrating their young artists.
The Malta and Gozo Students Prize 2025 [Malta and Gozo Students Prize] shortlisted 20 fantastic works, which were exhibited locally at The Hilton Hotel. Francesca Grech was awarded the Judges Prize for her work, ‘Unveiling Struggles’, while Kaylee Demarco took home the Public Vote Prize for her work, ‘My Future’. Additionally, special thanks to the Arts Council Malta, which awarded a €2,000 bursary to Sofia Rubasheva for her work, ‘Hommage to Gogol’.
The Cyprus Students Prize 2025 [Cyprus Students Prize] featured a shortlist of 30 talented artists and showcased their works in an eight-day exhibition at the Municipal University Library in Limassol. Congratulations to Anna Pasha, who was awarded the Judges Prize for her work, ‘To(o) Bare’, while Antonia Stavrou took home the Public Vote Prize for her work ‘Hidden’.
The Chester Students Prize Finalists Exhibition [Chester Students Prize] took place in the stunning Chester Cathedral, showcasing all 20 shortlisted works in the heart of the city. Congratulations to Charlotte Owers, who was awarded the Judges Prize for her work, ‘Mushrooms’, while Issy Wilson took home the Public Vote Prize for her work ‘A Leopard in the Wild’.
All winners from previous years of the prize are automatically entered into the Global Students Prize, which was established in 2021 to bring together the artworks from all the previous year’s Judges Prize winners in each participating country. A Global Judges Prize winner and Global Public Vote Prize winner are then selected from the winners.
The Global Students Prize 2025 was opened in April and the winner, announced by SAF in May, was Marta Lourenço from Portugal for her painting ‘Olhar’, while the Public Vote Prize Winner was Eugenie Chiu from London for her artwork, ‘A Bride to Be’.
There are still prizes open for entries. The Isle of Man [Isle Of Man Students Prize] Students Prize 2025 is accepting submissions until 25 July, and the Guernsey Students Prize 2025 [Guernsey Students Prize] is open until 5 September. The London Students Prize 2025 will open for entries in June and the Portugal Students Prize has now closed and we await the judging panel’s shortlist. Stay tuned for the Singapore and Hong Kong Students Prizes, commencing in early 2026!
