BE OPEN Young Talent Award: Finalists and Awarding Ceremony

LONDON, April 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The jury of BE OPEN YOUNG TALENT AWARD has selected 10 candidates to enter the short-list of finalists. The main winner as well as the Founder's choice winner will be announced at an awarding ceremony in Nottingham, UK, on April 28th, at the annual Cumulus conference. The online voting for the web choice winner will continue till May 15th.

The selected finalists are Sofia Drum Bento (USA), Jacque Kemp (USA), Natalie Mcqueen (USA), Catalina Perez (Chile), The Clocksmiths (Italy), Jenifer Wisler (USA), Pablo Gonzalez (Chile), Caroline Konarkowska (New Zealand), Passport Design Bureau (UK) and QQO (Italy).

This year the initiative unites several continents under the topic of GRAPHIC DESIGN. The candidates have presented their best works to the judgment of high-profile international jury, consisting of acknowledged professors, curators and designers Annabel Pretty, Umberto Tolino, José Allard, Fred Murrell and Luisa Collina.

The main winner of 16,000 Euro will be selected by the jury's direct voting - the designer who gets the highest score will receive a grant that will cover their day-to-day living expenses over a year, helping them develop their work at this critical early stage in their career. Seeking out designers who have only recently completed their studies and are making their first steps in a design career, the award will allow the winner to continue working at their own pace, experiment with both practical and conceptual projects.

Yelena Baturina, the Founder of BE OPEN, will award a 5000 Euro prize to another candidate from the shortlist, applying her vision as one of the world's leading businesswomen: "We believe that incubating talent is vital in the design sphere, helping new designers get a firmer foothold on the career ladder through contacts made within our professional networks, but also through giving them time to develop their thinking without too many commercial pressures, in effect, to have the luxury of 'being open' to new ideas."

The third winner (2000 Euro) will be selected by people's voting at BE OPEN's Facebook page - the corresponding album contains 10 portfolios that anyone can like, share and comment on thus giving their voice to their favourites.

The new tour of YTA is implemented in partnership with CUMULUS International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media, the only global association to serve art and design education and research.