Meet the winners: the King’s InterHigh Artist of the Year Award 2022

As part of our 2022 Summer Arts Festival this week, it’s time to crown the winners of our King’s InterHigh Artist of the Year Award!

With so much incredible work and creativity to celebrate, selecting just one winner in each category has been incredibly difficult. To make the decision, our teachers nominated students who they felt had earned an accolade this year, and one student was chosen from each subject group. Of course, we are incredibly proud of every single learner who has developed their creative skills this year, and we can’t wait to see even more amazing artwork in the new school year.

Jump to section: KS2 Creative Media | KS3 Creative Media | KS3 Art | KS4 Art & Photography

Key Stage 2 Creative Media Award

Congratulations to: Rhauri Samuels!

Year 5 Creative Media student Rhauri is the winner of our Key Stage 2 Creative Media Award for 2022, taking the prize for her Urban Buzz project.

by Rhauri Samuels, KS2 Creative Media Artist of the Year

For this project, students explored all the sensory experiences of a city through line, shape, and colour. Learners looked at Shantell Martin’s ‘Follow the Pen’ drawings and took influence from perspective drawing, photomontage, and urban installation. Armed with their new inspiration and skills, our students designed a public art piece.

Rhauri’s final piece, titled “COVID Broke the World”, is made from EVS foam, airdry and polymer clay, and acrylic paint.

Rhauri on her final piece:

“In real life, I would like this to be a public installation made of metal and coloured with enamel paint with cut-outs for the land and 10 times bigger. The monument is inclusive. Everyone was affected by COVID. I think the doctors and nurses who look at it will remember how hard they fought against COVID and remember the people who died in the hospital and around the world. Kids who look at it will remember missing school and their friends. Adults will remember working from home and vaccines. And everyone will remember wearing masks. It is thought provoking because the virus and the red cracks touch everywhere on the earth.”

Rhauri on winning an Artist of the Year Award:

“This year I learned that you don’t have to be stuck at home to do art. You can take it with you and do it whenever you are bored. And it does not have to be messy or require a lot of stuff. Many of the projects I submitted this year were done in a moving car, or during rehearsals or performances. I also figured out that when I’m really stuck for ideas all I really need to do is think about how I am feeling and make something out of it.”

Rhauri’s teacher, Carly Southern, says:

“Congratulations on winning KS2 artist of the year award, Rhauri. You are an extremely dynamic, creative, and talented student. The work you have produced for Creative Media this year has demonstrated your innovative ideas and willingness to experiment with a variety of materials , techniques, and processes. Excellent work. Well done!”

Key Stage 3 Creative Media Award

Congratulations to: Kunal Kashyap!

Year 8 Creative Media student Kunal is the winner of our Key Stage 3 Creative Media Award for 2022, taking the prize for his Graffiti Art project.

by Kunal Kashyap, KS3 Creative Media Artist of the Year

For this project, students explored themes of personal and political identity through graffiti art and stencilling. Inspired by Banksy and street artist JR, they created a graphic design to highlight their chosen inspirational message.

When he couldn’t find a cloth bag to draw on, Kunal chose to paint his final piece on an actual wall with chalk paint.

Kunal on his final piece:

“The main concept for the graffiti art project was music. I wanted to show that sometimes music can be stronger that mere words because of the level of emotion it can convey. Music’s appeal is universal meaning that anyone who sees my graffiti mural can want to listen to music no matter what their age. I really think that the idea of colour in my project made it look better. I had never done my sketch it such a large size before, so I think that the size of my project went well. I’m glad that I was ambitious and took a risk with making the piece on an actual wall.”

Kunal’s teacher, Carly Southern, says:

“Congratulations on winning KS3 artist of the year, Kunal. You are an extremely creative, motivated, and talented student. The work you have produced for Creative Media this year has demonstrated your readiness to experiment with a variety of materials , techniques, and processes and has shown your aptitude for presenting your final pieces in interesting ways. Excellent work. Well done!”

Key Stage 3 Art Award

Congratulations to: Ines Wall!

Year 9 Art student Ines is the winner of our Key Stage 3 Art Award for 2022, taking the prize for her Portraiture work.

by Ines Wall, KS3 Art Artist of the Year

In this project, students were introduced to portraiture through historical art context, studying pointillism, post-impressionism, fauvism, and pop art. They then emulated these painting styles, learning how to tint, tone and shade.

Ines’ favourite sections to paint were the fauvism and postimpressionism areas, explaining that the use of colour in fauvism is “very intriguing due to the clear juxtaposition.”

Ines on her final piece:

“I am pleased with how intricate and interesting the shapes look. I especially like the incorporation of a pattern of hands since it’s a bit more unique. I also really like the tones and shades of the chosen colours – it fits extremely well. This took me quite a white to completely colour in, so I am incredibly pleased with the end result.”

Ines on the past year of KS3 Art:

“I have enjoyed KS3 art a lot this yearsince it has allowed me to grow as an artist. I have been able to experiment with resources and with my creativity in general like never before. I am glad I had the opportunity to take part in the projects given – it has been extraordinarily enjoyable!”

Ines’s teacher, Lehanna Norton, says: 

“Congratulations Ines, you are such a worthy winner! It has been a pleasure teaching you this year and I have always looked forward to seeing your work. You have a wonderful eye for detail, colour palettes and presentation. You are also excellent at conveying the progression of your work and ideas. Ines, your enthusiasm is super and you always fully immerse yourself in each task, thank you.”

Key Stage 4 Art & Photography Award

Congratulations to: Ned Kryuchkova!

Year 11 Art and Design in Action student Ned is the winner of our Key Stage 4 Art & Photography Award for 2022, taking the prize for his Futurescapes project.

by Ned Kryuchkova, KS4 Art & Photography Artist of the Year

For this project, students were asked to reimagine the urban landscape through illustration.

Ned on his experience with the City & Guild’s assured course in art:

“In my experience, the Assured Art and Design in Action course has been pleasantly surprising and challenging, often taking me out of my comfort zone to explore mediums and materials I would not typically lay hands on. I also think that splitting the course into two ‘sections’ was a good decision as, in Year 10, Modules 1 and 2 were able to prepare us by making us use a vast and diverse variety of approaches, while still arriving at one final piece of work in the end; and Modules 3 and 4, being two halves of a bigger project carried out through Year 11, allowed us to use those gained skills in our own medium of choice. I think this system properly engages the ‘creativity muscle’ and it made me really enjoy my time in KS4 Assured Art and Design course.”

Ned’s teacher, Ben Faux, says:

“Ned is a determined artist with a real creative flair. He has impressed me with his capacity to be able to communicate complex conceptual ideas utilising traditional and modern digital techniques. Ned fuses these techniques together to produce an impressive body of work. He works with impeccable diligence and collaborative reflection, absorbing creative ideas and working these ideas masterfully into creative responses that never fail to impress!”

Well done to our King’s InterHigh Artist of the Year 2022 winners and nominees, as well as every student who’s worked hard this year. You’ve done a fantastic job, and we’re incredibly impressed and proud of you all!

See all the teacher’s nominees for Artist of the Year here:

Or take a look at our Student Choice video gallery: