Photos provided by hue Creative.

Young artists are being given their shot at success through an annual art competition backed by Lincolnshire lecturers.

Winning students will find themselves booked on an internship with a leading creative organisation and other prizes.

Hue’s Fearless Creative Competition is back, and so are the opportunities it offers. The competition prides itself on encouraging subversiveness, rule-bending, and freedom and is up and running again.

hue’s Creative Director, Mark Buttress. Photos provided by hue Creative.

“The Fearless Creative Competition is all about empowering young artists to take risks and explore new ideas,” is the line taken by hue’s Creative Director, Mark Buttress.

Mark continued, “Seeing how these students have grown and pushed their creative boundaries has been incredibly rewarding.”

With a new year comes a new theme and a new pool of talented artists ready to push their creative boundaries.

This year’s theme is ‘Make a positive impact,’ and the rules, as expected, are minimal. Full creativity is encouraged, and artists are able to utilise any medium and any material as long as they are in higher or full-time education.

Lincolnshire lecturer Pamela Mairs has heavily endorsed the competition. Pamela echoed the competition’s aims: “This competition encourages students to think outside the box and approach their projects with a fearless mindset.”

Sadie Groom’s 1st place winning artwork.

The Stamford College Graphic Design Lecturer emphasises the “invaluable experience” that Hue is providing to aspiring creatives.

The inaugural edition of the event was last year. The 2023 winner, Sadie Groom, also hails from Stamford College in Lincolnshire.

Sadie’s work was punctuated by deviation from the norm. Her victory further outlines Hue’s aim to champion bravery with this initiative. “It’s a competition—they want us to be fearless,” stated Sadie concerning her victory. I tried something new, and I ended up winning.

Last year’s runner-up, Cerin Flynn, spoke of the self-belief the competition has fostered: “The Fearless competition made me proud of my artwork and more confident in my abilities.”

Third-place finisher Vinnie Homer spoke on the creative freedom they were able to explore. Vinnie experimented with different mediums and reached the final without relying on digital tools.

They prompted fellow students to also take the leap and apply for the competition: “I would definitely recommend just going for it and being fearless in your creative process.”

Students aiming to replicate the achievements of last year’s finalists have until the 25th of August to submit applications.

The winner could come from anywhere in the country. It could even be another student from Lincolnshire who makes it all the way once again.