Amelia’s Magazine | Serco Prize for Illustration 2014: Call for Entries

Anne Wilson for London Transport Museum Serco prize
Illustration by 2011 winner Anne Wilson.

I am really excited to announce that I will be one of the judges for the 2014 Serco Prize for Illustration. You’ve only got a few weeks left to submit your work, but I urge you to give it a go – there’s always a very high standard to choose from and the best are shown in an exhibition at the London Transport Museum. Here’s our reviews of the prize artworks from 2010 and 2011, and below is all the official information you need to know: I look forward to seeing your entries!

London Transport Museum, in partnership with the Association of Illustrators (AOI), is delighted to announce that submissions are now welcome for the Serco Prize for Illustration 2014. This year the theme is London Stories.

London Transport Museum Serco prize2012
Illustrations by 2012 prize winners: Finn Clark, Christopher King and Guy Roberts.

‘Across the ages, London has produced and inspired countless stories. Fictitious or real characters and events in this amazing city have always held fascination, from the anecdotal urban myth to grand tales of historic legend. The aim of the competition is to attract artwork for display that is colourful, inspiring and celebrates a vibrant, multi-layered London.

Visually capture a well-known or lesser known narrative in a single image; all stories, current or historical, real or fictional, which feature this amazing city are welcome – your imagination is the limit. Stories could be those seen in a film or play, heard in poetry or music, read in literature or an urban myth. Impress the jury with your illustrated interpretation of a London story and be in with a chance of having your work displayed at the famous London Transport Museum and winning the top prize.’

London Transport Museum Serco_Anne-Wilson_2011
The winning image from Anne Wilson in 2011.

Prizes will be awarded in three levels:
First prize: £2000 and display of image on a LTM poster
Second prize: £1000
Third prize: £750

There is also the possibility that your shortlisted image will be featured on merchandise sold in the museum shop.

The competition is open to illustrators and students of illustration throughout the world. The top 50 entries selected by a panel of judges will be displayed in an exhibition at London Transport Museum that will open Friday 14 February and run until Sunday 6 April. The winners will be announced at a private award ceremony on the evening of Thursday 13 February. Make sure you read the terms and conditions on the website before you enter.

The deadline for entries is Sunday 3 November 2013.

Other judges include renowned illustrator Brian Grimwood, Libby Hamilton from Templar Publishing, Neil McFarland from UsTwo and Michael Walton from the London Transport Museum.

Categories ,2014, ,Amelia Gregory, ,Anne Wilson, ,AOI, ,Association of Illustrators Award, ,Brian Grimwood, ,Call for Entries, ,Christopher King, ,Finn Clark, ,Guy Roberts, ,Judge, ,Libby Hamilton, ,London Transport Museum, ,Neil McFarland, ,Serco Prize for Illustration, ,Templar Publishing

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Stories: The winners and my favourites from the Serco Prize for Illustration 2014

Gill Bradley, Monkey Band

Gill Bradley, Monkey band at large in Notting Hill 1927.

It’s official: I am a twit. Despite being invited by The AOI to sit on the judging panel for this year’s Serco Prize for Illustration I managed to entirely miss the actual exhibition at the London Transport Museum. Doh. This I put down to my current inability to attend evening events such as the preview night (I keep telling myself that these difficult toddler years won’t last long…) combined with the fact that I completely misread the end date of the show. Double Doh. So, despite my best intentions to see the artworks in reality before I blogged about my favourites, in the end this is a very late post, based on the same images we were asked to chose from as judges. It was a tough choice, with such a high standard to choose from and so many entertaining tales to learn along the way, but here are the winning choices, and below them some of my favourite London Stories:

Designer and animator Gill Bradley was declared the unanimous winner with her depiction of a not so well known story of an escaped monkey jazz band (see above) – chosen for it’s vibrant and unusual subject matter, with the added bonus that the event took place on London Transport.

Nicholas Stevenson_Frost Fair

I particularly loved Frost Fair by runner up Nicholas Stevenson, featuring curious characters at one of the famous Frost Fairs held on the Thames when it froze over.

Eric Chow_ Lady Bridge

Third prize went to Eric Chow for The Lady Bridge, a technically brilliant and evocative interpretation of the rebuilding of Waterloo Bridge by women during the Second World War.

Erica Sturla, The Menagerie in the Tower

Erica Sturla’s The Menagerie in the Tower shows the famous Royal menagerie in the Tower rendered in chaotic contemporary style. You can buy a variety of items featuring this design here.

london stories, Long Wolf and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show - Melvyn Evans

Melvyn EvansLong Wolf and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show was a popular artwork, depicting an infamous occasion during the reign of Queen Victoria, when a Sioux Chief brought his show to the American Exhibition for Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. There were 300 performances and 2.5 million tickets sold but sadly Long Wolf contracted pneumonia and died in London, forgotten until 1991.

Oranges and Lemons - Eliza Southwood

Eliza Southwood’s Oranges and Lemons riffs on the well known song (which was a popular theme for many illustrators) and features a glorious graphical representation of the actual churches from the tune.

River-Pageant-2012-Sue-Prince

Everyone loved the tapestry inspired River Pageant 2012 by Sue Prince.

London-stories-Richard Williams Wide Boy

There were many more idiosyncratic notions of London to chose from, such as Richard Williams’ illustration Wide Boy, with many of London’s most iconic attractions stowed away inside a capacious coat.

Elisa Cunningham Pelican Lunch - London Stories

Pelican Lunch features a pelican attacking a pigeon (apparently based on a rather upsetting incident found on youtube), by Elisa Cunningham.

London-Stories-White Bear - Paul Garland

I was most taken with the striking image of a White Bear by Paul Garland, based on the story of the polar bear kept at the Tower of London by Henry III, with a chain long enough that it could swim in the Thames and catch fish. In a nice decorative touch London transport signs make up the links of the chain.

Nathan Reed The Guardians of the Tower

Nathan Reed’s playful image of The Guardians of the Tower was one of many images that focused on these famous birds.

Gog and Magog - Helen Lord

According to the tradition, the giants Gog and Magog are guardians of the City of London, depicted here asleep under the bustling city by Helen Lord.

Starlings on the clock, Sonia Poli

Finally, Starlings on the Clock by Sonia Poli is an intricate papercut collage based on the moment in 1995 when a flock of starlings landed on the minute hand of Big Ben and put the time back by 5 minutes.

There were many more images that I loved, so do check out the London Transport Museum website, where you can still buy your favourite in poster form.

Categories ,Elisa Cunningham, ,Eliza Southwood, ,Eric Chow, ,Erica Sturla, ,Frost Fair, ,Gill Bradley, ,Gog and Magog, ,Helen Lord, ,London Transport Museum, ,Long Wolf and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, ,Melvyn Evans, ,Monkey band at large in Notting Hill 1927, ,Nathan Reed, ,Nicholas Stevenson, ,Oranges and Lemons, ,Paul Garland, ,Pelican Lunch, ,Richard Williams, ,River Pageant 2012, ,Serco Prize for Illustration, ,Sonia Poli, ,Starlings on the Clock, ,Sue Prince, ,the AOI, ,The Guardians of the Tower, ,The Lady Bridge, ,The Menagerie in the Tower, ,White Bear, ,Wide Boy

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