Young Masters Awards 2025: A Round Of Applause For Our Winners And Highly Commended Artists!

What a night! The Young Masters Valentine’s Eve Jazz Benefit Concert was nothing short of spectacular; a celebration of talent, creativity, and the incredible community that makes it all possible. We’ve been eagerly anticipating this moment, and it exceeded every expectation.

A huge thank you to our generous sponsors and supporters, including Dr. Chris Blatchley, Lady Jill Shaw Ruddock, The Ruddock Foundation for the Arts, The Rudolph Blume Foundation, Brownhill Insurance Group and The Kirsh Foundation. Your commitment to emerging talent continues to shape the future of contemporary art.

Now, for the moment we’ve all been waiting for; congratulations to our outstanding winners and highly commended artists.

Alexandra Baraitser, Lady Jill Shaw Ruddock,Dr. Chris Blatchley, Cynthia Valianti Corbett, Emilia Momen, Lucy Newman (left to right)

Young Masters Woman Artist Award 2025

Winner: Emilia Momen
Generously sponsored by Dr. Chris Blatchley

The Young Masters Woman Artist Award celebrates the exceptional contribution of women in the arts. This year, we are proud to honor Emilia Momen for her remarkable work.

Highly Commended:

• Blair Martin Cahill

• Kelsey Shultis

• Lucy Newman

• Alexandra Baraitser

Young Masters Ruddock Foundation for the Arts Award 2025

Winner: Carlton Scott Sturgill
Generously sponsored by The Ruddock Foundation for the Arts

The Young Masters Ruddock Foundation for the Arts Award recognizes outstanding artistic achievement, and we are pleased to announce Carlton Scott Sturgill as this year’s recipient.

Young Masters Rudolph Blume Foundation Acquisition Award 2025

Winner: Sarah Jane Moon
Generously sponsored by Brad Blume, art collector and President of The Rudolph Blume Foundation.

The Rudolph Blume Foundation Acquisition Award honors artists whose work demonstrates exceptional creativity. Sarah Jane Moon has been selected for her distinctive and captivating contributions to the art world.

Highly Commended:

• Jo Holdsworth

• James Robert Morrison

• Cristina Schek

Young Masters People’s Choice Award 2025

First Prize Winner: Cristina Schek
Second Prize Winner: Alexandra Baraitser
Generously sponsored by The Brownhill Insurance Group

The People's Choice Award is a unique honor, as it reflects the support and admiration of the public. We are thrilled to announce Cristina Schek as the First Prize winner for this year and Alexandra Baraitser as Second Prize Winner.

Jo Holdsworth, James Robert Morrison, Cristina Schek, Brad Blume, Cynthia Valianti Corbett, Sarah Jane Moon (left to right)

Thank You to Our Generous Sponsors

We would like to extend a special thank you to all of our sponsors, whose support makes the Young Masters Awards possible year after year. Your commitment to fostering emerging artists is invaluable to the growth and development of the arts community.

Photography credit: Cristina Schek

Focus On The Female Awards 2021

Together with our artists, supporters, and judges, we gathered at The Exhibitionist Hotel in South Kensington to celebrate the Focus on the Female Awards 2021. It was a warm and joyful occasion in the spirit of #womensupportingwomen, welcoming men who champion and uplift women artists. Our esteemed judges, Dr Chris Blatchley, our dedicated Patron, and Vestalia Chilton, who generously offered us a residency at The Exhibitionist Hotel, announced their decisions and presented the awards.

These honours hold deep meaning for the extraordinarily talented women artists, both established and emerging, who continue to pursue their practice with resilience, navigating challenges, global uncertainty, and lockdowns.

Please join us in celebrating our 2021 winners and read on for the full list of laureates and their remarkable artworks.

Two awards were given for art created during lockdown: 

Focus On The Female Art Created During Lockdown Award 2021 has been given to Deborah Azzopardi for her work ‘Unabashed’.

Focus On The Female Art Created During Lockdown Award 2021 has been given to Cristina Schek for her work ‘Florence Lightingale’.

An Honourable Mention in the Focus On The Female Art Created During Lockdown Award 2021 has been given to Eve De Haan for her work 'Text Me When You Get Home, 2021'. 

Focus On The Female Emerging Artist Award 2021 has been given to Rafaela De Ascanio for her work ‘Bottoms Up!’

Two Highly Commended Awards were given to:

Focus On The Female Young Masters Highly Commended Award 2021 has been given to Polina Filippova for her work 'Almost There, Self Portrait 01'

Focus On The Female Young Masters Highly Commended Award 2021 has been given to Rebecca Harper for her work 'Landslides'. 

And… the overall winner, Focus On The Female Young Masters Award 2021 has been given to Emilie Taylor for her gorgeous pottery presented in the show. The Judges were impressed with her exquisite mastery of the medium, her attention to detail, the subtlety of her palette and the depth and importance of her narrative.

Congratulations to all artists! 

On 21st October we had the pleasure of meeting many of you at our Focus On The Female Awards Ceremony & Jazz Night. Please join us in revisiting the lovely and warm moments of this wonderful evening by watching the video below.

While our residency in The Exhibitionist Hotel is coming to its end, you can still view our Focus On The Female curation offline until 31st October at 8-10 Queensberry Pl, South Kensington, London SW7 and online in a dedicated Private View Price List.

Please let us know if you would like any additional information, to arrange a private appointment or curator tour at info@thecynthiacorbettgallery.com.

Thank you for supporting us and our exceptional artists during these exciting months at The Exhibitionist!