DEADLINE: March 31, 2024 (ONLINE)
Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery 2024
London, UK
THE HAND & LOCK PRIZE FOR EMBROIDERY 2024 IS NOW OPEN
The annual Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery is a celebration of craftsmanship and the fine art of embroidery. This global competition provides aspiring embroidery students and designers an opportunity to showcase their talents and gain vital exposure and experience. The aim of this prize is to promote the use of hand embroidered surface embellishment within the fashion, costume & textile industries. We provide artists, students, practitioners and enthusiasts with a platform to connect with other industry bodies; in turn gaining exposure, improving embroidery techniques and keeping the age-old tradition moving forward in the modern world.
The Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery accepts all types of embroidery. Your piece may include more than one type of embroidery.
Our contest is open to embroiderers, students and enthusiasts anywhere in the world.
TYPE OF ENTRY
Student
To qualify for the Student Category you must be in full or part time higher education at the time of registration. Registration as a student means you will benefit from subsidised entry fee and can submit work you are creating as part of your course.
Open
If you aren't in full or part time higher education, you will qualify for the Open Category. Registering in the Open Category is for anyone of any age. You can be a skilled practitioner, a passionate enthusiast or even a recent graduate.
Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery 2024
London, UK
THE HAND & LOCK PRIZE FOR EMBROIDERY 2024 IS NOW OPEN
The annual Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery is a celebration of craftsmanship and the fine art of embroidery. This global competition provides aspiring embroidery students and designers an opportunity to showcase their talents and gain vital exposure and experience. The aim of this prize is to promote the use of hand embroidered surface embellishment within the fashion, costume & textile industries. We provide artists, students, practitioners and enthusiasts with a platform to connect with other industry bodies; in turn gaining exposure, improving embroidery techniques and keeping the age-old tradition moving forward in the modern world.
The Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery accepts all types of embroidery. Your piece may include more than one type of embroidery.
Our contest is open to embroiderers, students and enthusiasts anywhere in the world.
TYPE OF ENTRY
Student
To qualify for the Student Category you must be in full or part time higher education at the time of registration. Registration as a student means you will benefit from subsidised entry fee and can submit work you are creating as part of your course.
Open
If you aren't in full or part time higher education, you will qualify for the Open Category. Registering in the Open Category is for anyone of any age. You can be a skilled practitioner, a passionate enthusiast or even a recent graduate.
Submission Fees in USD:
Student: $25.00
Open: $38.00
CATEGORIES
FASHION
Fashion entrants should design a fashion garment that takes inspiration from the Prize brief. Your submission should showcase your design skill as well as your ability to embroider. Judges will look at your concept, execution, construction, embroidery skill and overall presentation.
TEXTILE ART
Entrants should examine the brief and produce an object that showcases their embroidery skills. The object could be a piece of jewellery, an artistic sculpture, an embroidered tapestry, a piece for home interior design etc. Judges will look at originality, embroidery technique, execution, construction and overall presentation.
Student: $25.00
Open: $38.00
CATEGORIES
FASHION
Fashion entrants should design a fashion garment that takes inspiration from the Prize brief. Your submission should showcase your design skill as well as your ability to embroider. Judges will look at your concept, execution, construction, embroidery skill and overall presentation.
TEXTILE ART
Entrants should examine the brief and produce an object that showcases their embroidery skills. The object could be a piece of jewellery, an artistic sculpture, an embroidered tapestry, a piece for home interior design etc. Judges will look at originality, embroidery technique, execution, construction and overall presentation.
The Brief (truncated version)
A palimpsest is an ancient document where the original inscriptions have been erased to make room for new texts. It has become a word we use to describe our capacity to see the age and history of an object or place. This idea of the old making way for the new, while leaving faint traces is at the heart of archaeology, art, evolution and innovation.
Consider yourself, the objects in your home and wider society and look for the layers that reveal the stages and transformations that led them each to where they are today. Look at your environment, the landscape, the forest, the city through which you make your daily commute. See the ancient ruins that lie sandwiched between glistening glass skyscrapers and construct your own histories.
Consider the emotion your piece can convey: calm tranquillity, vibrant exaggeration, or the blended middle ground. Find your own expression of optimism. Imbue your object with layers that aspire to hope, joy and celebration.
Embrace up-cycling as a metaphor for historical revisionism. Investigate the act of embroidery as a healing process. Recognise and highlight the transformation in you, and the objects you embroider.
Your final work should reflect a complex and personal multi-layered engagement with your inspirations. Dig deep and explore your thoughts and feelings: your submission should provoke, communicate and articulate a strong sense of emotion.
PRIZES
First Prize
◦ The winners in each category will be awarded with $3,500 USD as a top prize.
◦ A commemorative framed hand embroidered plaque produced by Hand & Lock's skilled craftsmen.
◦ A years complimentary membership of The Textile Institute.
◦ Six months subscription to Selvedge magazine.
◦ A prize bundle of industry standard threads from Madeira.
◦ A weekend course at Hand & Lock.
Second Prize
◦ A commemorative framed hand embroidered plaque produced by Hand & Lock's skilled craftsmen.
◦ Six months subscription to Selvedge magazine.
◦ A weekend course at Hand & Lock.
Third Prize
◦ A commemorative framed hand embroidered plaque produced by Hand & Lock's skilled craftsmen.
◦ Six months subscription to Selvedge magazine.
◦ A weekend course at Hand & Lock.
Submission Guidelines for the First Round of Judging
For the first round entrants should only submit images. These images should convey a combination of your overall vision, your design journey, your research and include fine details. If your submission is incomplete, images of your work in progress and a rendering of your overall scheme can be submitted.
Our judges will use these images to assess your embroidery vision and how you have chosen to interpret the brief. Judges will look for evidence of your inventive and original interpretation, as well as your technical ability and overall design.
For the first round you will be asked to upload six images. These images should meet the following criteria:
– Three research images (Consisting of concept or mood board and embroidery samples).
– Three images of your embroidered Textile art or fashion piece (If final design is not complete, then please provide images/designs of how the final piece is expected to look).
– Your images should demonstrate that you have followed the specially written brief.
– Your images should not be doctored, obscuring your overall design vision or your embroidery skill.
– Your submission should be accompanied by up to 200 words describing your overall concept along with techniques and materials used.
A palimpsest is an ancient document where the original inscriptions have been erased to make room for new texts. It has become a word we use to describe our capacity to see the age and history of an object or place. This idea of the old making way for the new, while leaving faint traces is at the heart of archaeology, art, evolution and innovation.
Consider yourself, the objects in your home and wider society and look for the layers that reveal the stages and transformations that led them each to where they are today. Look at your environment, the landscape, the forest, the city through which you make your daily commute. See the ancient ruins that lie sandwiched between glistening glass skyscrapers and construct your own histories.
Consider the emotion your piece can convey: calm tranquillity, vibrant exaggeration, or the blended middle ground. Find your own expression of optimism. Imbue your object with layers that aspire to hope, joy and celebration.
Embrace up-cycling as a metaphor for historical revisionism. Investigate the act of embroidery as a healing process. Recognise and highlight the transformation in you, and the objects you embroider.
Your final work should reflect a complex and personal multi-layered engagement with your inspirations. Dig deep and explore your thoughts and feelings: your submission should provoke, communicate and articulate a strong sense of emotion.
PRIZES
First Prize
◦ The winners in each category will be awarded with $3,500 USD as a top prize.
◦ A commemorative framed hand embroidered plaque produced by Hand & Lock's skilled craftsmen.
◦ A years complimentary membership of The Textile Institute.
◦ Six months subscription to Selvedge magazine.
◦ A prize bundle of industry standard threads from Madeira.
◦ A weekend course at Hand & Lock.
Second Prize
◦ A commemorative framed hand embroidered plaque produced by Hand & Lock's skilled craftsmen.
◦ Six months subscription to Selvedge magazine.
◦ A weekend course at Hand & Lock.
Third Prize
◦ A commemorative framed hand embroidered plaque produced by Hand & Lock's skilled craftsmen.
◦ Six months subscription to Selvedge magazine.
◦ A weekend course at Hand & Lock.
Submission Guidelines for the First Round of Judging
For the first round entrants should only submit images. These images should convey a combination of your overall vision, your design journey, your research and include fine details. If your submission is incomplete, images of your work in progress and a rendering of your overall scheme can be submitted.
Our judges will use these images to assess your embroidery vision and how you have chosen to interpret the brief. Judges will look for evidence of your inventive and original interpretation, as well as your technical ability and overall design.
For the first round you will be asked to upload six images. These images should meet the following criteria:
– Three research images (Consisting of concept or mood board and embroidery samples).
– Three images of your embroidered Textile art or fashion piece (If final design is not complete, then please provide images/designs of how the final piece is expected to look).
– Your images should demonstrate that you have followed the specially written brief.
– Your images should not be doctored, obscuring your overall design vision or your embroidery skill.
– Your submission should be accompanied by up to 200 words describing your overall concept along with techniques and materials used.
Complete details available on the website:
Prize Categories: https://handembroidery.com/the-prize/categories/
Prize FAQs: https://handembroidery.com/the-prize/faqs/
Hand & Lock
86 Margaret Street
London, W1W 8TE
TEL: 0207 580 7488
86 Margaret Street
London, W1W 8TE
TEL: 0207 580 7488
email: prize@handembroidery.com
