Yorkshire students invited to apply for prestigious artistic award

Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is launching its 2025 Yorkshire Graduate Award scheme, continuing a commitment to supporting and developing the region’s most promising emerging and early career artists.

Building on the success of previous years, this unique residency opportunity invites recent graduates from Yorkshire-based universities to immerse themselves in the inspirational landscape of YSP, develop their creative practice and showcase new work.

For over 48 years, artist residencies have been central to YSP’s mission, offering invaluable time, space, and resources for artists at pivotal moments in their careers. The Yorkshire Graduate Award, established in 2018, has become a vital platform for new voices in contemporary art, embracing a diverse range of mediums including sculpture, performance, film, photography, and sound.

The 2025 Award winner will be offered a two-week residency at YSP, including on-site accommodation, access to studio facilities and technical support, a £750 artist fee, and £250 for materials. The recipient will also benefit from the guidance of YSP’s curatorial team and the opportunity to present their work to the public.

George Moody, the most recent recipient of the Yorkshire Graduate Award, shared their experience: “Eight years ago, when I first started studying my BA in Art History, I visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park for the first time. I remember being blown away by the Park and the accessible ways it encouraged people to engage with art with, and in, nature. It immediately became my favourite place in the world to visit, and I never considered that I would be able to not only make, but stay and showcase my work there.

“Winning the Yorkshire Graduate Award for 2024 has been an incredibly formative experience-one that I know will continue to shape my career for years to come. During the residency, I received outstanding support from the curatorial and technical teams, whose encouragement and care made the whole process feel possible. I was given access to beautiful working spaces and, most pivotally, the time to explore, experiment, and play.

“The Award taught me to be ambitious in a climate that pressures artists to do the opposite. I especially valued the flexibility of support, which made space for a pop-up exhibition of my work in The Boathouse. Being able to share the work I’d made during the residency with YSP’s audience felt like a significant moment. It helped me step into my practice with more clarity and confidence.”

How to Apply:
Applications are open to recent BA or MA graduates from any Yorkshire-based university. Applicants should submit a PDF of up to 5 pages, including a short statement on their current practice, information about their final degree work, images of wider work, and a simple outline of their plans for the residency (which can evolve during the process). Written elements may also be submitted as audio or video recordings up to 5 minutes in length. YSP welcomes applications from all artistic disciplines and is committed to supporting access needs.

The deadline for applications is 15 August, 2025. Submissions should be sent to curators@ysp.org.uk.

For more information, visit www.ysp.org.uk.