The Northern School of Art with the Association of Illustrators has launched a brand new international art prize ‘The Northern Illustration Prize’. The Prize aims to celebrate the very best in illustration across the globe and is open for entries today (Friday 1 March) from emerging illustrators and professional illustrators.

The Prize heralds the start of the countdown to the award-winning biennial ‘The Northern Festival of Illustration’ which returns to Hartlepool and other venues this summer.

The Northern Illustration Prize will be judged by a panel led by Chris Riddell OBE (the multi award-winning illustrator and former Children’s Laureate), pictured at the 2015 Festival of Illustration. Chris will be joined by the well-known illustrators Tor Freeman and Derek Brazell. All shortlisted entries will be exhibited at the Festival and the two winners will be announced on 31 May 2019.

The Northern Illustration Prize is generously supported by The Gillian Dickinson Trust, and the entry system developed in collaboration with the Association of Illustrators.  It is expected to attract significant interest and is expected to attract significant interest. The competition is open to entries in two categories: established illustrator and emerging illustrator. The winner of the established illustrator prize will win £2,000 cash. The winner of the emerging illustrator will win a fully funded studio for one year.

Pat Chapman, Vice Principal at The Northern School of Art, said “We’re delighted to announce this major new international art prize to celebrate the astonishingly beautiful, complex and skilled work of illustrators throughout the world.

“The purpose of the Festival and this new international prize is to open up the diverse world of illustration to the whole community and to show the many career paths it can

take you on – from product design through comics, cartoons, gaming, literature and the movie industry.

“Building on the success of our previous year’s Festivals, we continue to attract visitors from all over the country who visit Hartlepool to enjoy a wide range of activities – from listening to leading illustrators talk about their work to exhibitions, public art and community workshops for the whole family.

“The Festival is just part of our mission here at The Northern School of Art to continue to open doors to the amazing careers available in the rapidly growing creative industries.”

The Festival’s previous two outings attracted more than 70,000 visitors to see work by internationally renowned illustrators; this year the Festival runs from 1 June to 15 September.

Full details of the ‘The Northern Illustration Prize’ can be found at https://theaoi.com/northern-illustration-prize-2019/  where there is full guidance on how to enter and the terms and conditions. Entry deadline is 11^th April 2019

The Prize asks for entries on the theme of ‘Monkey’ – as the School and Festival are based in Hartlepool, it is anticipated that some artists will choose to interpret the ‘Legend of the Hartlepool Monkey’ but artists are free to use their creative imagination to create new characters or perhaps go down a natural world and conservation path.

For full details of The Festival of Illustration, please visit www.festivalofillustration.com