The finalists for a brand-new Art Prize have been announced revealing the most exciting contemporary artists from around the world.

The Rise Art Prize is a global competition, launched in October 2017, that seeks to unearth the best established and up-and-coming artists from around the world, and offers a career defining prize. In its debut year, the Rise Art Prize has reviewed over 16,000 artists and received 2,300 submissions.

The art prize is the only one of its kind, to actively seek out artist entries globally with expert judging panels from 5 all-encompassing regions of the world. These regional judges include Scottish sculptor Bruce McLean, founder of 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Touria El Glaoui, and founder of Unit London Joe Kennedy, who have whittled down entries to just 26 all-star finalists from all over the world. From the latest and greatest street artists, to prolific painters and passionate photographers, 26 exceptional entries from artists looking to accelerate their career in the industry will now be considered by a global judging panel. The shortlist is announced as satirical painter Harland Miller, iconic fashion photographer, David Bailey CBE, Turner-nominated artist Fiona Banner and renowned British street artist Ben Eine join the global judging panel alongside YBA artist Gavin Turk, twice Turner Prize nominated sculptor Richard Wilson and Sarah Martin, Head of Exhibitions at Turner Contemporary. English contemporary artist Antony Micallef, is also amongst those to join the panel.

Global judges will be looking for creative excellence, original ideas and technical skill to choose a winner from each of twelve different categories, ultimately awarding the coveted Global Artist of the Year prize to one winner. The Global Artist of the Year will receive a £10,000 cash prize, along with the opportunity to exhibit their work at an international exhibition in Central London, business and financial mentorship from industry experts, a short biopic around their practice, and editorial, marketing and exhibition opportunities through Rise Art. Other accolades up for grabs include UK Artist of the Year and UK Young Artist of the Year, plus individual category winners for different mediums including Street Art, Painting, Drawing, Screen Printing, Photography and Sculpture.

The Rise Art Prize shortlist includes: 
Emily Moore - UK, Susan Schmidt - Australasia, Hiroshi Sato - Americas, Lebohang Kganya - MEA, Maria Magenta - Europe. To see the full shortlist and all artist bios visit www.riseart.com

Global judge, Fiona Banner comments: " While art college and studio hire used to be virtually free, that’s far from the case nowadays; as a result, being an artist is harder than ever before. Removing value and saleability from equation, art matters more than ever in our current climate. If you’re a believer that we need art on a physical, emotional and intellectual level, things must to be done to support it.” The winners will be announced along with the Global Artist of the Year at a private event, taking place on the 8th of February at House of Vans, central London. The exhibition will subsequently be open to the public.

Global judge Ben Eine comments: "I am a huge fan of new platforms for raising awareness around art and creativity. There is so much incredible talent around the world and it's amazing to see that weeded out and for these artists to have an opportunity to showcase and promote their work and practice. I am lucky that I am at the point that the world is my stage, but it is not easy for young artists to get there." Launched by online art gallery Rise Art, known for its expertly curated selection of artists from around the world, representing both established heavyweights and unearthing and promoting the next generation of art stars, the Rise Art Prize offers artists the chance to shine on a global stage.

Speaking on the Rise Art Prize, founder of Rise Art, Scott Phillips comments: “We’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of entries the Rise Art Prize has received in its first year. It just goes to show that there are so many undiscovered artists out there waiting for an opportunity like this. We’re really excited to be able to help catapult careers and give a much-needed springboard to these incredible artists.” “The quality of work in each category of entry has been extremely high and we’re really looking forward to the next stage of judging. The Rise Art Prize is an amazing opportunity for us to discover extraordinary artists – including those who haven’t made the shortlist this time around.”

Rise Art is a curated online gallery. Its experts scour the globe looking for the best art, from the best artists. And they’re on a mission: to help democratise the art world and bring great art to everyone. Rise Art is looking for one thing: talent. That’s why they showcase work in every medium and budget. But it’s not ‘just a website’ –the platform is engaged, active, alive. Rise Art has a range of services, all designed to help get people discovering, owning, loving, buying and feeling things about art. And as well as selling great art, they also offer a try-before-you-buy service – they really want more people to experience art in their lives. So customers can road-test artworks at home or in the office before committing to buying them. Rise Art doesn’t do “business as usual”. It gets experts and artists working together, so that more people around the world can buy great art easily. To view the shortlisted artworks and find out more visit www.riseart.com