The John Ruskin Prize

'Agent of Change'

A shortlist of 25 artists, designers and makers will have their selected works exhibited at The Holden Gallery, Manchester.

The 5th John Ruskin Prize calling for 'Agents of Change' has received record number of entries from artists and designers across the nation.

A record number of artists, makers and designers have responded to The John Ruskin Prize 2019 nationwide call for entries, this year inviting submissions in response to the theme: Agent of Change.

Over 1250 artists and designers, working in and across a broad range of disciplines have applied this year. The 2019 selection panel will consider over 3500 artworks, selecting 25 - 30 artists for the shortlist, to be announced on 3 June 2019. From the shortlist 3 winners will be announced and awarded their share of the £5K Prize Fund at the Private View and Prize Giving at The Holden Gallery, Manchester on 11 July 2019.

With the values of the radical polymath and social justice pioneer John Ruskin at its core, and with his legacy in the spotlight in this bicentenary year, we are proud that the themes explored through The John Ruskin Prize resonate so strongly with creatives working across the nation. Thank you to everyone who submitted to this years prize.

The John Ruskin Prize is Organised by The Big Draw. Our founder and core supporter is The Guild of St George, the charity set up by John Ruskin in 1871.

ABOUT THE JOHN RUSKIN PRIZE 

Organised by The Big Draw, charity no. 1114811

The John Ruskin Prize is the fastest growing multi-disciplinary art prize in the UK. With the values of the radical polymath John Ruskin at it's core, the #RuskinPrize has a growing reputation for supporting and promoting artists, designers and makers whose work defies easy categorisation.

The John Ruskin Prize was inaugurated in 2012 by The Guild of St. George and The Big Draw (formerly The Campaign for Drawing). Organised and delivered by The Big Draw, The Prize aims to uphold John Ruskin’s beliefs: An impassioned critic, not only of art but of society and life. He believed that art has the power to expose universal truths, and that a good artist should do just that. Ruskin was a writer, artist, social critic, polymath and aesthete. The prize also embraces Ruskin’s polymathic sensibilities, and in 2017 expanded the remit of the prize welcoming entries from artists, designers and makers focusing on the strengths of interdisciplinary practice through the 2017 theme: Hand & Eye: Master of All Trades.

‘The greatest thing a human being ever does in this world is to see something… To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion all in one’. - John Ruskin