The SCAF Emerging Artist Award has been created to acknowledge up and coming artists of all ages who are living in the Yorkshire region. The intent of the award is to bring recognition and awareness to outstanding visual artists in the region who are at the early stages of their career or who have not yet established a reputation as an artist amongst art curators, buyers and critics.
/ This years subject:
Art is inseparable from Heritage. Each act of creation is shaped by what has come before it: by the stories, materials and traditions that form our identities and cultures. Heritage is often deeply rooted in people, place or ritual. It shapes how we express ourselves and can determine how we connect our past with our present and, in turn, what we carry into the future.
This year, the theme for our Emerging Artist Award is Heritage. We are inviting artists to reflect on and respond to the stories, identities, and influences that shape who we are. Your work might explore personal memories, cultural traditions, social history, architectural legacy or anything else that speaks to what we inherit and what we choose to pass on. We invite you to draw from the legacy of your communities, ancestors, environments and experiences to reflect on the past and how you use it to inform the future.
/ Final Awards & Exhibition
There will be 10 awards overall with the winning artist receiving £1250, 2nd £500, 3rd £250 and 7 further awards of £100 each to the remaining shortlisted artists. The awards will be presented to the recipients at the opening of the SCAF Emerging Artist Award Exhibition to be held will be displayed at the Danum Gallery in Doncaster. A city teaming with architectural and industrial heritage, from its Roman walls and medieval castles to its key role in Britain’s railway industry. Doncaster is also a proudly multicultural city, shaped by generations of migration and community, where diverse voices and lived experiences continue to influence its culture, identity and creative spirit.
/ Eligibility for Artists & Artworks
There is no restriction on the artist regarding training or nationality.
The artist must be aged 16 or over.
You must be living within the Yorkshire region at the time of entry.
All types of art welcome, except live performances, video projections, or sound-based artworks unless audio is played exclusively through headphones.
The artist must not have exclusive representation, to enter this art competition.
Artwork size must be less than 100cm x 100cm for artworks to be hung on the wall including frame, and less than 100cm cubed for sculptures. If you are unsure, please contact us on 01423 314 103.
/ Timetable
The award consists of two stages.
Proposal for completed artwork and supporting images should be entered online using the link on this page. Deadline for entries is 11:59pm 4th January 2026. Shortlisted entries will be announced on 17th February 2026, following which the successful entrants will be invited to produce and submit their completed original artworks based upon their successful proposal by 4th July 2026.
Judging will take place and the winners announced at the exhibition open evening on 23rd July 2026.
The ten final artworks will then be exhibited thereafter throughout the year.
/ Key Dates
3rd October 2025
Open for submissions
4th January 2026 11.59pm
Close of submissions
5th Jan - 15th Feb 2026
Judging of submissions
17th February 2026
Finalists notified
4th July 2026
Final artwork submissions delivered to SCAF
23rd July 2026
Final judging and presentation evening
/ 2023's AWARD
/ Judging Panel
Dr Sue Armstrong
MA VetMB VetMFHom CertIAVH MRCVS RsHom
Artistic Director & Trustee of SCAF
Sue Armstrong is the Founder of the Scott Creative Arts Foundation and the current Artistic Director. Sue was a close friend of Michael and Eileen Scott and is dedicated to realising their wishes through the work of the Foundation. Providing support and encouragement to emerging artists was a major priority for the Scott’s and to be holding the fourth SCAF emerging artist award is a testament to her commitment to SCAF. Sue, like the Scotts is a passionate believer in the value of the synergistic relationship between arts and science.
Shirley Hudson
Artist: Painter and Sculptor
Originally from Oxfordshire and now based in Yorkshire, Shirley Hudson is a fine artist whose work is deeply inspired by the landscape. Alongside creating her own artwork, she is actively involved in community-based art projects. Shirley received traditional training in sculpture and printmaking, gaining extensive hands-on experience with a variety of materials and techniques. Her passion for teaching has led her to work in Adult Education, and she currently facilitates art sessions at Henshaws. Her community work includes A Place at the Table, a portrait series of individuals experiencing homelessness in Harrogate; participation in the Portraits for NHS Heroes initiative; and paintings created in support of the Cancer and Pisces Trust. Shirley's artwork has been exhibited across the region and is held in private collections.
Mouse
Artist: Sculptor
Mouse is a Bradford-based, self-taught sculptor whose work explores infinity, consciousness, and abstract form. Working primarily in wood, his practice combines material sensitivity with philosophical inquiry. Since being named runner-up for the 2024 Emerging Artist Award with SCAF, Mouse has exhibited with Scarborough Museums, Ferens Art Gallery, and other notable venues. Committed to sustainability, he pursues large-scale works that deepen his dialogue with nature while pushing the possibilities of form.
Lou Hazelwood
Winner of the SCAF Emerging Artist Award 2025
Lou Hazelwood is a Hull based artist, exhibiting regionally, nationally and internationally; she has a diverse practice, which sees her investigate how our experiences, personal and cultural, and technologies, historical and contemporary, influence our experience of memory and forgetfulness. Her work takes many forms and responses from sound pieces, text, film, installation, performance and image based. Over the last decade she has been exploring damaged film stock and photographic emulsion, working with a variety of processes to see how film responds. She manipulates the stability of the emulsion and what it ultimately records. Lou worked with household chemicals, considering the domestic family image and recently with woodlands chemicals, embedding permanence in responses to ecological change referencing temporary images produced via the historical process of ‘anthotypes’.