Cast your vote: the NOVA awards’ open ballot champions new creatives

Not only does the NOVA awards have the challenging job of choosing the top candidates for six awards that celebrate the original creativity and innovative new thinking of new artists – from over 1,300 graduating students, no less. The arts, design, and culture programme also hosts the YourNOVA People’s Choice Award, a publicly voted contest. Intended to be accessible and democratic, the award opens up the conversation to what the future of contemporary creativity looks like, with the unique opportunity to champion the perspective, people and projects of dexterous, highly skilled students. This year, with 15 shortlisted nominees, the choice is harder than ever.

One such project that embodies the NOVA award’s trademark approach to new thinking is BA Fashion Communication’s student Anqi Liu, and their enigmatic series Connection Failed, a compelling, unnerving and engrossing collection of tableaus that captures moments of an unexpected disconnection from reality. Almost Lynch-like in their approach to abstraction, character and composition, Liu captures the alienation and isolation that many people experience, drawing on her own feelings of introversion. Engrossed, almost part of the series ourselves, Connection Failed challenges us to question the stories behind these solitary figures and reflect on their own moments of disconnection.

Similarly contemplative, Aarony Bailey’s Intimate Pages uses photography and the poetry of Alhena Al-Ali Douglas to explore young adulthood, delving into relationships, mental health, and addiction. Culminating in a collaborative publication inspired by the likes of Sophie Calle and Nan Goldin, the BA Fine Art student’s series feels ephemeral, anecdotal and intimate, capturing the raw, honest experiences of London’s youth that dispels the challenging stereotypes of Black women in favour of a more affirming portrayal. One that presents a nuanced reflection of Black femininity. 

BA Fashion Communication student Jane Zheng, through their ever-engrossing, heart-warming and awakening documentary Steam Steam Day Up!, likewise investigates the often overlooked and misinterpreted perspectives of British lives. Chronically a day in the life of second-generation British-Chinese dry cleaner, Tony Chung, the film, dedicated to the ESEA diaspora, champions the importance of heritage and community, especially in the light of a post-pandemic world. Over the course of five months, Zheng documents Tony’s significance to the local community and the rich history of the Chung family.

Kindred in its perspective on places and their emotive, local relevance, BA Fashion student Izzy McCormac turns towards the joy and unbridled freedom of the British Seaside. I Am Really A Kite is a curated array of six outfits all constructed from paper. McCormac’s series challenges traditional garment design, emphasising sustainability, place and collaboration in both its design and its construction. Having sourced spare materials from Scrap Store, a charity in South London, and waste pleating paper from Ciment Pleating in North London, Izzy crafts pieces that can be reverted to pulp and recycled, championing a commitment to environmental, economic, and social sustainability – all through the lens of childlike wonder.

In recognising new voices, the NOVA awards celebrate and elevate art and design’s future. The complete list of nominees includes Aarony Bailey (BA Fine Art 4D), Anqi Liu (BA Fashion Communication), Bhavna Madan Mohan (MA Character Animation), Christopher Bellamy (MA Biodesign), Debarati Das (MA Biodesign), Evy Prentice (MA Graphic Communication Design), Funmi Olawuyi (BA Product and Industrial Design), Ghada Alamoudi (MA Ceramics, Furniture and Jewellery), Illaria Quinte (MA Material Futures), Izzy McCormac (BA Fashion, Womenswear), Jane Zheng (BA Fashion Communication), Joshua Obichere (MA Fine Art), María Camila Lugo Riveros (MA Graphic Communication Design), Patrick Garvey (BA Fashion, Knit), and Donna Kim (MA Performance). This extensive group demonstrates not only a remarkable breadth of discipline but a plethora of unique creative perspectives, each as original and, ultimately, exciting as the last.