World renowned photographer Rankin, international artist Stuart Semple and war photographer Giles Duley, have all come out in support of Arts University Bournemouth’s annual competition to find emerging creative talent. The artistic heavy-weights will support the University in giving teenagers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase their creative work on billboards across the country.
The nationwide competition entitled ‘Who Are You 2’ asks for creative 14-19 year olds to create a piece of work that reflects who they are in the world today. The twenty eventual winners will then see their work supersized and displayed on billboards across the country with the support of outdoor media specialists and competition partner, JCDecaux.
Stuart Semple, one of the judges for this year’s competition, said:
“Nationwide opportunities such as the ‘Who Are You 2’ competition, encourage people to follow their dreams into creative industries – a place where there is always room for fresh ideas and new visionaries.”
The opportunity comes at a critical time for the UK’s creative industries which have suffered from government funding cuts to arts education. In addition, recent research commissioned by AUB shows that almost two thirds (64.6%) of people in the UK gave up on their dream career by the time they were 20 years old, while a staggering 1 in 4 people said that they didn’t feel confident enough to pursue their dream vocation.
Rankin, who is also Judge for this year’s prize, said:
“It’s disappointing to see that nearly two thirds of people in the UK give up on their dream careers by the time they are 20. It’s never too late. At 21, I was actually training to be an accountant before I gave it all up to pursue my dream of becoming a photographer – and I’ve never looked back. That’s why I’m really excited to be involved with AUB’s Who Are You? competition, because like me, AUB is keen to inspire young people to pursue their dreams and to develop their creative potential.”
Simon Pride, Head of Marketing at the AUB, said:
Who Are You? is all about encouraging young creatives to follow their dreams by questioning who they are and giving them the courage to pursue what they want to be – whether this be in the creative industries or elsewhere. With the winner’s artwork showcased to thousands of people on both static and digital billboards, AUB are helping young people who dream of a career in the creative industries, to launch themselves, and hopefully their careers, by giving them a huge platform to showcase their work.”
For more details on the competition, visit the AUB’s Facebook page: or the website .
Deadline for entries is on the 11th March 2013.
About
This is the second year of the popular Who Are You? competition, which was launched by the Arts University Bournemouth – a creative arts, design, media and performance university – to offer young people an outdoor stage to showcase their talent.
· ‘Who Are You?’ is also being supported by outdoor media specialists JCDecaux which is giving lucrative UK-based media space to the eventual winners of the ‘Who Are You?’ competition.
· The AUB is one of the top five universities in the country for graduate progression into employment, with the annual HEFCE survey entitled DLHE (Destination of Leavers from Higher Education) 2011, showing that 97.7% of AUB graduates are employed or continuing with further study within 6 months of leaving. This figure puts AUB in the top 5 of all 165 universities in the UK.
