FROM THE EYE TO THE HAND: ENTER HERE!

The John Ruskin Prize is a multidisciplinary art prize open to all artists, designers and makers, of all nationalities, aged 18 and over.

For The 7th John Ruskin Prize, there are a few new additions. For the first time you can submit from anywhere in the world. The prize is open to digital submissions to facilitate international entries. The Prize welcomes works in all mediums, including drawing, painting, print, sculpture, photography, textile, animation, mixed media, digital, performance, installation and more.

About The John Ruskin Prize 2025

The John Ruskin Prize aims to attract entries from a wide range of artists and makers. Work can be in the following artforms, however this is not an exhaustive list.

Animation

Ceramics 

Collage, in all materials including photography

Combined work using both traditional media and digital elements

Digital artworks

Drawings, in all formats

Film / Video

Glasswork in all forms, such as stained glass or engraved glass

Installation

Metalwork, including gold and silversmithing and heavy metalwork

If you have any questions on whether your artform is appropriate, please get in touch.

The selection panels’ shortlist decision will be announced by email to all entrants, and subsequently announced by press release, published on ruskinprize.co.uk, and shared on social media. Up to 50 artists will be selected for the exhibition 'FROM THE EYE TO THE HAND’ due to take place at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London from 16 - 26 January.

The selection panels’ decisions are final and binding; no correspondence can be entered into.

Andrew Nairne OBE

Director, Kettles Yard

Prof Anita Taylor

Dean of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design at the University of Dundee

Charles.O.Job

Architect and designer

Rachel Dickinson

Master of the Guild of St George

Emma Stibbon RA

Artist & Royal Academician

Prize Tiers

The prize tiers are:

1st Prize, £3000 (Made possible by support from John Ruskin’s charity, the Guild of St George)

Entry is eligible for all artists, designers and makers.

2nd Prize, £2000 (Made possible by support from John Ruskin’s charity, the Guild of St George)

Entry is eligible for all artists, designers and makers.

The 1st Prize and 2nd Prizes are kindly supported by the Guild of St George. The Guild of St George inaugurated the first John Ruskin Prize in 2012 and has supported its development and evolution ever since. This prize aims to reflect a central thread of John Ruskin’s thought: that art has the power to reveal and celebrate universal truths, and that a good artist and maker in any medium should always be guided by that search.

The Alan Davidson Under 26 Prize, £1000

Entry is eligible for all artists, designers and makers aged under 26. This prize is kindly sponsored by The Alan Davidson Foundation.

the International Prize, £1000

Entry is eligible for all artists, designers and makers working outside of the UK. You can work in any medium, but submissions must be digital in format as work will be viewed, judged and exhibited digitally.

INTRODUCTION TO THE THEME:

The theme FROM THE EYE TO THE HAND invites a deep exploration of the relationship between perception and creation, the journey from what we see to what we make. Work submitted to The John Ruskin Prize should thoughtfully engage with and interpret this theme, delving into how our observations of the world translate into tangible expressions through our hands.

The theme FROM THE EYE TO THE HAND can be explored and interpreted in a myriad of ways. Challenging us to explore the journey from perception to creation. It asks us to consider how our observations of the world are translated through the act of making, and what stories emerge when the hand interprets what the eye sees. For Ruskin, this process is not merely technical but deeply ethical, spiritual, and connected to the truth of nature. The artist’s task is to observe the world with sincerity and humility and to translate that observation into art with skill and integrity. The hand, in Ruskin’s view, should be a faithful servant of the eye, guided by a commitment to truth and a respect for the divine in nature. This perspective elevates the act of artistic creation to a moral and spiritual endeavor, where the connection between seeing and making is sacred. As John Ruskin once said, "To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion, all in one." Through this theme, we are invited to explore how seeing and creating are intertwined, each enriching the other in the process.