A blind art student Ruqaiya Asim from Dagenham has won the People’s Choice Award at the first ever Cass Art Prize 2024.
22 year old Ruqaiya Asim’s piece was chosen by the public as the highlight of the inaugural Cass Art Prize’s phenomenal longlist, which was exhibited at the Copeland Gallery, London in November. The Cass Art Prize has been created by leading art supply retailer Cass Art, continuing the Cass family’s monumental legacy of supporting artists for over 120 years.
Asim uses her art to spread disability awareness and advocate for accessibility in art. She said her winning piece was “all about the trust me and my guide dog Bertie share together as he’s my pair of eyes.” Asim attended the Cass Art Prize exhibition at Copeland Gallery, London alongside Bertie. Asim encouraged sighted people who can’t read Braille to touch a black Braille square at the centre of her artwork so they could experience the inaccessibility of art that Asim and others in the disabled community often feel.
The visitor-favourite piece also used prints of Bertie’s paws and traces the shape of his harness. Asim made sure her piece Communication With My Guide Dog was as accessible as possible by adding a braille description and QR code leading to an audio description to her display at the Cass Art Prize exhibition. Asim is a Slade School of Fine Art student who lives in Dagenham, East London. The new, emerging artist competed against multiple established, leading artists to achieve her remarkable People’s Choice Award win.
You can read about the other Cass Art Prize award winners HERE
“I would like to thank all our Artists, Judges & Partners for their support bringing this wonderful exhibition to life. I hope visitors have enjoyed what we hope to be the first of many years of this special event, and hopefully be inspired to take part in The Cass Art Prize in the future. The Cass Art Prize is generously supported by my father’s Estate, and its inaugural exhibition marks what would have been his 100th birthday. 2024 is also a very special year for us, as we celebrate 40 Years since I first started Cass Art, so it seems fitting to take this opportunity to bring together & celebrate just some of the amazing artistic talent we have across the UK & Ireland.”
Mark Cass, CEO & Founder of Cass Art said
The Cass Art Open Call will reopen in spring 2025.
