Theo Paphitis announces the winners of the Theo Paphitis Art Prize

On Tuesday 13th September, Theo Paphitis hosted the finalist judging event for the inaugural Theo Paphitis Art Prize at London Graphic Centre and awarded over £7500 in cash and thousands of pounds worth of vouchers from Ryman, London Graphic Centre, Obby and Winsor & Newton to three deserving artists.

Since purchasing London Graphic Centre, in 2016, Theo Paphitis wanted to create a free-to-enter art competition to reward and recognise artistic talent. COVID-19 and the lockdowns the pandemic brought with it affected everyone, and that’s why Theo Paphitis thought ‘Escapism’ would be the perfect theme with which to launch the Art Prize with.

Theo Paphitis was the Chair of the judging panel and was delighted to be joined by: Claudine O’Sullivan, Duncan Shoosmith, Kate Brinkworth and Zena El Farra - who all brought a wealth of artistic knowledge with them.

The Theo Paphitis Art Prize exceeded expectations, with there being almost 800 entries and over 7,500 votes for the People’s Choice Award - and the judging panel were hugely impressed with the breadth and quality of the submissions.

On Tuesday 13th September 2022, Theo Paphitis hosted the finalist judging event for the inaugural Theo Paphitis Art Prize at London Graphic Centre, with the judges and top 10 shortlisted finalists in attendance.

The top 10 shortlisted finalists were: Crispin Holder, Chris Green, Christine Roychowdhury, Christopher Campbell, Eleanor Sass, Jane Goodman, Karen Turner, Malcolm Duffin, Simon Hennessey and Titus Agbara.

After much deliberation, the judges were delighted to award the ‘Judges’ Award’, and with it, £5,000 in cash and over £1,300 worth of vouchers to Jane Goodman.

As decided by the public, the winner of the ‘People’s Choice Award’, and the £2,000 in cash and £650 in vouchers, was Titus Agbara.

The judges felt that the standard of the final ten was so high that an additional award, ‘The One to Watch Award’, containing £500 cash and £750 in vouchers, was created on the evening and was awarded to Eleanor Sass.

A big thank you to the sponsors of the Theo Paphitis Art Prize - Ryman, London Graphic Centre, Obby and Liquitex and Winsor & Newton - who without the competition would not have been possible.