Travers Smith LLP is delighted to announce the winners of its 2024/25 CSR Art Awards. Set up in 2015, the firm's CSR Art Programme works with graduate artists from the University of Westminster and the Royal College of Art (RCA).
The Awards are the culmination of a year-long series of events and activities aimed at supporting graduate artists, and an opportunity for the firm to recognise the exceptional talent of this community.
- Cen was the overall winner in the University of Westminster graduate category for their photograph, "White Lily", which depicts cultural and family obligations in Chinese culture. Runners up were Mingbo Zhu for his series titled "Lost Childhood" and Sasha Palfreyman for their painting "Sign time, time to sign".
- Xinyue Shen took the top prize in the RCA category for their work titled "Reading the Air", which explores the chosen behaviours by people in public through their individual observations. Runners up were Danilo Zocatelli Cesco for his work "Dear Father, it feels like leaving was necessary for me to realise that I needed to return" and Isis Zhané Taylor-Hudson for her painting "We love a human with a baby brain…".
- Nina McCue was announced as the winner of the popular vote, which was open to everyone who works at Travers Smith, for her photograph titled "Duet".
All three winning artists have been awarded £2,000 to support them with their transition towards professional practice. Runners up have been awarded cash prizes of £500.
This year's panel of judges included alumni artist Fernando M. Romero, Alexa Chow, Assistant Curator at Serpentine Galleries, Katy Hyams, Public Policy Director, Vanguard Europe, and Tarek Merlin, Director & Co-Founder of Feix&Merlin.
Tarek Merlin, one of this year's judges said: "It was a real pleasure to be part of the judging panel for this year's Travers Smith CSR Art Programme. The quality of the graduates’ work was extremely high and I was particularly impressed with the diverse range of subject matter, including some poignant and moving stories from LGBTQ+ perspectives. I look forward to seeing the artists flourish and I encourage them all to continue to engage with such a unique and valuable resource as they transition from student life to professional practice"
Cen, University of Westminster winner said: "I am deeply happy and genuinely grateful to receive this prestigious award. This is an encouragement for my dedication to the photography field I love. I also sincerely thank the panel of external expert judges and all of people for recognizing my work."
Chris Edwards, CSR & Diversity Director at Travers Smith said: "Huge congratulations to this year's winning artists. We have had some truly spectacular pieces on display over the last 12 months, and I'd like to extend my thanks to all the participating artists who allowed us to share their work.
"Our Art Programme has been a cornerstone of our CSR offering for ten years now. We've been lucky enough to support some fantastic artists along the way – some of whom have gone on to great things. Here's to the next ten years, and bringing next year's collection to our new office, Stonecutter, in 2026!"
You can see the winners piece, and all of the artworks from this year's Programme here.
