Awards
Judging Process
All artwork submitted to the International Exhibition open call will be carefully reviewed and selected by an inclusive judging panel from ArtWorks South Yorkshire. Artists will be notified of the outcome of their application during the week commencing 29th September 2025. Selected artists will have their work showcased in the ArtWorks Together International Exhibition at the Millennium Gallery in Sheffield from January - May 2026.
From these exhibited pieces, a second round of selection will be carried out by the high-profile expert judges listed below. Each judge will choose one award winner for their associated award, reflecting their individual specialism and unique perspective. The awarded artists will be celebrated and officially announced during the exhibition launch event.
This is honouring an artist who demonstrates exceptional technical skill or experimentation, this award celebrates innovation in medium, method, or artistic approach. Recognising work that pushes boundaries or redefines traditional techniques, this award acknowledges creativity and craftsmanship.
Justine Simons is Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries. She has played a central role in the cultural transformation of London for two decades. She was awarded an OBE in 2015 by Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth for Services to Culture in London.
Justine founded and is Chair of the World Cities Culture Forum – the principle leadership network on culture and the future of cities, now grown to 45 global cities reaching across six continents.
She led the capital’s biggest ever festival for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with over 5000 events and is now overseeing its legacy. East Bank in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, is a new £1 billion culture and education district, the most significant for over 150 years.
She shapes London’s Investment Strategy for the Creative Industries covering film, fashion, games and design, growing their influence on the world stage. She has designed new policy innovations including the world’s first Creative Enterprise Zones, a new Culture at Risk Office to protect fragile cultural infrastructure, established the London Borough of Culture and hardwired culture into London’s planning system with the first Cultural Infrastructure Plan.
Justine established the Fourth Plinth as the UK’s biggest public sculpture prize, is co-chair of London’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm and chaired the Mayor’s Suffrage Statue Commission placing the first statue of a woman in Parliament Square, suffrage campaigner Millicent Fawcett. She positioned culture at the heart of the Let’s Do London recovery campaign, attracting 800,000 visitors and bringing London back to life post pandemic.
This award celebrates the exceptional talent and promise of an emerging artist whose work demonstrates creativity, innovation, and a unique artistic voice. Recognising those in the early stages of their career, the Rising Visionary Award honours an artist whose fresh perspective and skill set them apart as a standout talent, marking them as a future leader in the art world.
George Webster is a 24 year old BAFTA award winning TV presenter, actor, dancer, author and charity ambassador. He was the first person with Down Syndrome to become a presenter on the BBC, and is a firm favourite on CBeebies. He has achieved many of his dreams, including dancing on Strictly Come Dancing, acting on stage, appearing in his favourite TV shows and winning a best actor award for his lead role in S.A.M. He has been in the top 20 TV Presenters according to the Radio Times, the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 and the young person of the year in his native Yorkshire. He has been an ambassador for parkrun, Yorkshire Dance and Royal Mencap.
His books, “This is Me!”, “Why Not?!” and “George & the Mini Dragon” have been featured at major book festivals. He enjoys public speaking at major conferences. He believes we are all special, we are all unique and we all have a glow inside each one of us. He lives in Leeds and loves his life.
“I’m super excited to be a judge for ArtWorks Together. It’s going to be so much fun. Celebrating the arts created by people with disabilities is very important - our worldview can be different and there are so many super talented and creative people around. We all need to be seen and our voices need to be heard.”
This award recognises an artwork that exemplifies environmental sustainability and creativity, celebrating innovative approaches to eco-friendly art practices. Honouring work that uses sustainable materials, highlights environmental issues, or inspires action towards a greener future, the Green Vision Award acknowledges the artist’s commitment to both artistic excellence and ecological responsibility.
Claire Buckley is Programme Lead at Julie's Bicycle
Claire has over 25 years’ experience building and supporting environmental understanding, action and change. Since joining Julie’s Bicycle in 2012, she has been working with cultural organisations as well as policy and funding bodies to connect climate and culture - from the V&A, the National Gallery and Studio Olafur Eliasson to Arts Council England, Creative Ireland and the British Film Institute. She has worked with local authorities and the cultural community - from Manchester and Leeds to Powys and Southampton - on place-based cultural collaboration on climate. Prior to joining JB, Claire worked as an environmental management consultant in Belgium, Austria and Germany and as Environmental Manager at the Guardian. She is a member of the Institute of Environmental Management.
This award celebrates an artwork that demonstrates exceptional mastery and impactful use of colour. Honouring a piece where colour is used thoughtfully and powerfully to evoke emotion, create depth, or convey meaning, the Chromatic Excellence Award recognises an artist's skill in harnessing the vibrancy, harmony, and expressive potential of colour to enhance their creative vision.
Passionate about colour, Annie Robinson has a practice which includes a large portfolio of abstract artwork featuring kaleidoscopic landscapes. Annie works patiently over long periods of time to apply her rich patchwork motifs using multiple mark-making mediums with fine detail.
A meticulous multi-media process is an important part of a mindfulness practice for Annie who finds creating these mesmerising artworks an integral part of relaxation. Annie derives creative inspiration from a rich appreciation of films and music, as well as finding further self-expression through dance.
Annie is supported by Prism, a Carlisle-based arts studio funded through Arts Council England. www.prismarts.org.uk
“I love bright colours in my life. It was exciting to see my artwork in Yorkshire, going to be a judge means I am excited but nervous at the same time.”
Marc Steene OBE is a leading figure in the world of arts and inclusion. Through his work he seeks to challenge concepts as to who is an artist and what constitutes art. He champions an inclusive approach to working with communities, enabling creativity, and examining how we define and talk about culture more widely. As founder of award-winning arts charity Outside In and as an author, curator, and campaigner, he seeks to create a fairer art world where a wider body of artists are recognised and have the opportunity to have their work seen and their voices heard.
Outside In won the Charity Award for Arts & Heritage in 2006 and was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2022 for its Ambassadors Programme, the highest award that can be bestowed on a voluntary group and the equivalent to an MBE.
In 2023 Marc wrote, Outside In: Exploring the Margins of Art, published by Lund Humphries and documenting his unique journey and exploring a wide cross-section of artists working outside the mainstream.
Marc is Vice President of the European Outsider Art Association and has delivered papers at conferences across the globe. In the 2023 New Years Honours List Marc was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).
‘I was delighted to be asked to be a judge for the Spirit of the Time category. I am always keen to enable artists to have further opportunity and for their work to be recognised, especially those who find it hard to gain the recognition they deserve.’