The John Ruskin Prize is the fastest growing multi-disciplinary art prize in the UK, open to all artists, designers and makers, amateur or professional, from anywhere in the world, aged 18 and over. The Prize welcomes works in all mediums, including but not limited to drawing, painting, print, sculpture, photography, textile, animation, mixed media, digital, performance, installation and more.
With the values of the radical polymath John Ruskin at its core, the #RuskinPrize has a growing reputation for supporting and promoting artists, designers and makers whose work defies easy categorisation.
The John Ruskin Prize was founded by The Guild of St. George in 2012, under the administrative umbrella of The Big Draw supported by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust. Over the years the prize has honoured painters, printmakers, designers, sculptors, photographers and a wide range of craftspeople.
In his lifetime, Ruskin was primarily famed not as an artist but as a writer, critic, outspoken social commentator and inspiring public lecturer. For him, “The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something, and say what it saw in a plain way”. He considered his own drawing and painting - from a geological specimen to an Alpine scene or the architecture of Venice - principally as his route to truly seeing and recording the world or, in the case of the enormous diagrams with which he illustrated his lectures for example, to encouraging others properly to see it and thus to enrich their lives as productive members of society.
..the show is not so much an open call to artists but a call to arms
Afterview on The John Ruskin Prize 2019: Agent of Change
About John Ruskin
John Ruskin (1819-1900) was a writer, artist and philanthropist. He championed many of the tenets of the welfare state, and inspired the founders of the National Health Service, the formation of Public Libraries, the National Trust and many other cornerstones of civil society in the last one hundred years. His influence reached abroad in such areas as women’s education, the minimum wage, child labour, and environmental protection and has served both as a restraining influence on unbridled capitalism and a moral conscience for the nations of the world.
He wrote on many things: art and architecture, nature and craftsmanship, literature and religion, political economy and social justice —a dizzying variety of subjects. He also worked tirelessly for a better society; the depth and range of his thinking, his often fierce critique of industrial society and its impact on both people and their environment, and his passionate advocacy of a sustainable relationship between people, craft and nature, remain as pertinent today as they were in his own lifetime.
The greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something and tell what it saw in a plain way... To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion, all in one.
John Ruskin
Previous prizes
In the last couple of years, the Ruskin Prize has seen a record-breaking number of entries, with over 4000 entries in one year from artists and makers across 35 different countries.
Since The John Ruskin Prize launched in 2012, alongside its founders The Guild of St George, The Big Draw has organised 7 national prizes and considered entries from almost 10,000 artists and makers. The prize continues to grow in reach, reputation and support for artists whose work defies easy categorisation.
2025 : From the Eye to the Hand
The 7th John Ruskin Prize exhibition, ‘From the Eye to the Hand’, invited artists to examine the journey from observation to creation. It challenged participants to consider how visual perception translates into artistic expression and how the process of making reveals deeper truths.
2024: Seeing The Unseen, Hearing The Unspoken
The 6th John Ruskin Prize exhibition, ‘Seeing The Unseen, Hearing The Unspoken’, invited artists to explore how we perceive the world beyond the obvious - what emerges when we shift perspectives, listen to silences instead of noise, and uncover hidden narratives.
This prize marked the return of the John Ruskin Prize after a hiatus since 2019. The intervening years were shaped by unprecedented global events - the Covid pandemic, social restrictions, and economic challenges. The theme reflected these times, encouraging artists to interpret and express the profound impacts on individual and collective experiences.
2019: Agent of Change
Coinciding with the bicentenary of Ruskin’s birth, the 5th John Ruskin Prize explored Ruskin’s role as a social reformer and doer. Artists were invited to respond to the theme 'Agent of Change', and the final selection of 41 artists showcased their work in a widely acclaimed exhibition at The Holden Gallery, Manchester.
2017: Hand & Eye: Master of All Trades
The 4th John Ruskin Prize celebrated the artist as a polymath, featuring works that transcended traditional categories and disciplines. Held at The Millennium Gallery, Sheffield, the exhibition highlighted the intersection of art, science, and craftsmanship, with themes ranging from material experimentation to social commentary.
2012 - 2015:
The inaugural John Ruskin Prize took place at Brantwood, Ruskin’s former home in the Lake District, in 2012, inviting artists to respond to the theme ‘A New Look at Nature’. In 2014, the 2nd John Ruskin Prize ‘Recording Britain Now’ took place at the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield, before moving on to the Electrician’s Shop at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London. The 3rd John Ruskin Prize took place in 2015/16, exploring the theme ‘Recording Britain Now - Society’. The exhibition was first hosted at Walsall New Art Gallery before moving to the Electrician’s Shop at Trinity Buoy Wharf.
