The Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prize, Isle of Man 2025: Finalists Announced
The Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF) is delighted to announce the names of the 30 young artists shortlisted as finalists for The Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prize, Isle of Man 2025. This annual award is designed to celebrate the importance of art in the education system and recognise the quality of artworks produced by secondary school students across the island.
Teachers were invited to nominate their best art students to submit artworks to the competition, online. This year we achieved a record breaking 89 entries, these were assessed by a judging panel comprising professionals from different facets of the British art world:
- Howard Bilton, Founder and Chairman of SAF
- His Excellency Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer KCB DSO MBE, Governor of the Isle of Man
- Lady Lorimer MBE,
- Phil Games, Chief Executive Officer of Simcocks Advocates
- Lisa Nelson, Chief Financial and Value Officer, Standard Bank Offshore
- Adrienne Burnett MBE, Director of Arts Aid and Fellow of Liverpool Hope University
- Carole Rush, Artist
- Jade Boyan, Artist and Designer and Engagement office for Isle of man Arts Council
Nobles Hospital will host the 30 shortlisted artworks in a Finalists Exhibition from 1st to 29th October 2025.
The overall winner of The Sovereign Art Foundation Students Prize, Isle of Man 2025 will be determined when the judging panel examine the shortlisted works, in person, at the Finalists Exhibition; selecting one student to receive the Judges’ Prize of £800, their school will also be awarded £2,000, to the benefit of a greater number of pupils.
To boost public engagement and increase exposure for the students, exhibition visitors and our online audience are invited to cast a vote for their favourite finalist artwork, the most popular of which will receive a Public Vote Prize of £400 (and their school £1,000). Simcocks Advocates have sponsored the Originality Prize with an award of £400; and this year Standard Bank Offshore are sponsoring an under 16 category of the Judges and Public Vote prizes, matching the prize funds for the students and their schools.
Online votes are open to the general public via web gallery with voting closing at 12:00hrs GMT on 24th October 2025. Isle Of Man Students Prize
Winners are to be announced at a private event on 30th October 2025
Furthermore, students can opt to enter their works into a silent auction – the proceeds of which are split between the artist and two local charities – Manx Children’s Art Therapy, who provide art therapy as n a creative outlet for children and young people, and the Arts Aid, whom support education in Arts by offering scholarships and other assistance.
SAF runs twelve Student Prizes around the world, the first of which was established in 2012 in Hong Kong, followed by Bahrain, Chester, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Malta & Gozo, Mauritius, London, Portugal and Singapore. The winners from Isle of Man will go up against the winners from the other 2025 prizes in contention for the 2026 Global Students Prize.
