Today, in partnership with RBC’s Emerging Artists, The BRIT School is delighted to announce that two talented Year 13 students have won The BRIT School & RBC Emerging Artists Prize.

The Prize was launched last year as part of a partnership programme with RBC that supports a number of projects created by BRIT School’s Final Year students as they prepare for the next stage of their creative journey. The BRIT School transforms the lives of young people who want creativity as part of their future. We encourage and nurture creative thinkers to have the confidence and skills for whatever route they wish to take in their lives and the Prize enables the recipients to continue to emerge as artists as they leave BRIT.

In our 30th year the Emerging Artists Prize has been awarded by a panel of judges including BRIT Principal Stuart Worden, BRIT Alumni Rosa Murdoch and Janay Marie, and this year we were thrilled that RBC’s Senior Art Curator Corrie Jackson participated in the selection process.  The two winning final year students (one from Creative Arts, one from Performing Arts) will each receive £2,000 enabling them to purchase much-needed kit and equipment for their onward journey as artists. 

The winner of the Creative Arts prize is Year 13 Interactive Digital Design student Elizabeth Dada who said, 

"I’m truly grateful and thankful for being picked by the judges, and this has reinforced my dedication to get better at illustrating and animating.  I must thank my teachers, family and friends for their constant love and faith in me, and their support in my art. And I also must thank The BRIT School, for presenting me with so many amazing opportunities to take. Had I not gone to this school, I know my life would be very different and less exciting. The money will definitely be going towards a better drawing/animation software and drawing tablet, as well as my living expenses at university this September. Thank you again to everyone involved. I hope this is the beginning of a very successful art and animation career.”

 

The winner of the Performing Arts prize is Year 13 Applied Theatre student Shae-love Jackson who said,

“ I feel so privileged to be selected for this award and absolutely over the moon to actually win it. The BRIT School has been key in shaping the last few years for me, boosting my confidence, providing me with so many opportunities and giving me endless happy memories to treasure. It has given me an amazing starting point for my career, and I have developed a real passion and commitment for the Community Arts.   I plan to use my prize to further develop myself so that I can make more of an impact and reach more people through Community Arts. I am going to put this towards a British Sign Language course and get my Vocal Coaching qualification. I am also planning to expand on the freelance work I have been doing over the last month and use the money to fund costumes and equipment for children’s entertainment events.”

Stuart Worden, Principal of The BRIT School, said, 

“It has been such a pleasure to work alongside Corrie from RBC and two of our Alumni to select this year's Emerging Artist Prize winners. RBC has become a key partner and friend of The BRIT School and it is exciting to see the impact the programme has across the School. This year’s winners and nominees again demonstrate the breadth of talent and skill  of our students. The School has always stayed ahead of the creative sector it serves and we aim to keep up with the evolving changes in both need and technology. Therefore I am particularly pleased that the prize gives us the opportunity to shine a light on two very different courses we offer - Interactive Digital Design and Applied Theatre - both relatively new creative strands that continue to grow and develop. Well done to Elizabeth and Shae-love in excelling in their subjects.”

 Corrie Jackson added:

“The arts have and continue to be an essential part of how we communicate, reflect and innovate as a society. The arts also play a key role in building vibrant communities and strong economies. Through RBC’s cultural partnerships, we are privileged to be able to support artists and institutions –- such as The Brit School — that are shaping our societies and culture whilst also being reflective of RBC’s commitment to an innovative and inclusive culture.

Congratulations to all of the nominees for this year’s hotly-contested Prize, all of whom demonstrated exceptional talent across artistic genres, and especially to the winners: Elizabeth and Shae-love. RBC is delighted to play a part in supporting new talent, particularly during the early stage of their careers helping them to bridge from emerging to established artists.”

 Corrie Jackson- RBC Senior Art Curator

Corrie Jackson is a curator and collection manager. She is currently the RBC Senior Art Curator, directing the management and growth strategy of the RBC Corporate Art Collection.  She oversees the international art collection team, developing strategy and engagement and leading art

acquisitions for the bank. She has held roles at the University of Toronto Art Museum, Sotheby’s Canada, and commercial galleries. A graduate of the Master of Visual Studies, Curatorial Practice at the University of Toronto, Jackson’s curatorial interests focus on cross-generational dialogues and developing the role of collections as accountable and inclusive narratives. Corrie is on the Board of Trustees of the Gardiner Museum, and on their Governance Committee. She has previously sat on the board of Mercer Union, and various committees across arts organisations with a focus on contemporary art.

 

Rosa Murdoch- The BRIT School’s Careers Officer/Alumna

Rosa Murdoch has been championing innovative talent in the music and creative arts industry for over ten years through her community engagement charity work in the arts, and her work in the music industry as a PR executive and artist manager. She has always dedicated herself to advocating change and promoting artist development which led her coming back to The BRIT School to help develop young people’s careers in the performing and creative arts industry.

 

Janay Marie- TikTok/Aluma 

Janay graduated from the Applied Theatre Course (formerly known as Community Arts Practice) and landed a job at SYCO/Sony. Janay is currently Community, Programmes and Events Manager at TikTok working across campaigns with creators, artists and partners in the UK and Ireland. 

 Notes to Editors

 About The BRIT School | brit.croydon.sch.uk

The BRIT School is a one of a kind FREE Performing Arts and Technology School in Croydon. The BRIT School was set up in 1991 and remains the only non-fee paying secondary school in the UK delivering specialised performing and creative arts training in the UK.  Since then, over 10,000 students have passed through its doors, including household music names including Adele, Katie Melua, Jessie J, Ella Eyre, Loyle Carne, Freya Ridings and black midi; to actors such as Tom Holland (Spiderman), Cush Jumbo (The Good Wife, The Good Fight) and Ashley Thomas (24:Legacy).

The BRIT School also prides itself on providing an excellent general education that helps prepare young people for the future. It encourages students to go on to specialist colleges and universities or into employment in the creative industries. 

BRIT stands for the British Record Industry Trust. Without the generosity of the record industry and funding from the BRIT Awards, the School would never have been built and its superb facilities would never have been installed. 

 About RBC

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 89,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada’s biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.

ENDS –

Enquiries

Alexa Cruickshank

Director of Communications, The BRIT School

acruickshank@brit.croydon.sch.uk

020 8665 8621