The winner of the Young London Print Prize for 2023 has now been announced - congratulations to winner, 10 year-old Afsana Miah from Lansbury Lawrence Primary School in Tower Hamlets. Using mono printing with lino blocks, Afsana created a compelling print depicting a jellyfish drifting in the ocean, entitled 'Alone, Darkness’. Second prize went to Hanna Jelonkiewicz for her artwork 'The Crashing World' and third prize to Jayden Rodriguez Kent for his print 'Beetle Bug'.

These three young artists won top spots, ahead of nearly 2,000 young artists from 34 schools in this year’s Young London Print Prize. The competition invites young Londoners between the ages of 9 and 11 to express their personal response to the climate crisis through the art of printmaking.

According to the latest research, 7 out of 10 of young adults in Britain feel ‘worried’ about climate change. But only 9% believe they have a great deal of influence in decisions about it.  The Young London Print Prize was launched to help address this. It aims to inspire the next generation of artists and reveal how young people feel about the climate crisis. Pupils learn how to make prints and prepare their own climate-themed submission to the Prize. All the artworks in the competition are judged by a team of 16 – 17 year old student curators from across London. No adult makes any of the decisions.

The winning prints were revealed at midday yesterday, Wednesday 25^th October, on the full 780m2 screen of the Piccadilly Lights – an iconic landmark seen by 100 million people passing through Piccadilly Circus annually. They will then be exhibited alongside some of Britain's best loved contemporary artists, including Cornelia Parker and Bridget Riley, at Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair from 26th – 29th October. 

Matt Bell, Chair of Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair and Co-Founder of the Young London Print Prize, said: “Most of the schools that we work in have almost no resources. That would be wrong in any context but in a climate crisis, it’s just madness. If you want to shape social values and inspire young people to make different choices, art and creativity are completely fundamental.” 

Simon Fitzpatrick, Head of the Arts Group at Boodle Hatfield, added: "Year after year, we are amazed at the fantastic artworks created by the young artists participating in the Young London Print Prize. We are delighted to see that the number of students they are able to reach is growing each year and we are extremely proud to continue our support of YLPP as they inspire the emerging artistic talents of the future and drive the conversation around climate change"

The Young London Print Prize is run by Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, with support from Boodle Hatfield LLP, Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, powered by Westfield Stratford City, Foundation for Future London, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster City Council, the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Anthesis, Lefranc Bourgeois, Landsec and Forster Communications. For more information, visit https://woolwichprintfair.com/young-london-print-prize