V&A Illustration Awards

Free to enter, the V&A Illustration Awards celebrate excellence in student illustration and contemporary practice. Each of four winners receives £3,000 and their work features in a display in the V&A. An overall winner is named the Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year, receives an additional £5,000 and their artwork enters the V&A's collection, joining work by renowned artists such as Aubrey Beardsley, Sir John Tenniel, E.H. Shepard, Quentin Blake and Posy Simmonds.

We are rethinking the Award to better reflect the wider illustration industry. Look out for our survey appearing here soon, or to be kept up to date with Illustration Awards news sign up to our email updates below.

The Awards are generously supported by the The Linder Foundation and the Moira Gemmill Memorial fund.

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For our 50th anniversary year, we received a record 1,440 entries. These span a broad range of illustration styles and subjects, from the tragedies and challenges of the past two years to the stories which have comforted us.

The 2022 winners were selected by a judging panel of illustrators Dapo Adeola, Ann Kiernan, Axel Scheffler and Posy Simmonds, chaired by V&A Director Tristram Hunt.

Award winners and the student winner, runner-up and highly commended entries, will feature in a display of digital prints in the V&A South Kensington galleries 20 July 2022 – 9 October 2022.

Gérard DuBois, The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Published by Folio Society, 2021

Based on Cormac McCarthy's The Road, the work depicts a man and boy making a harrowing journey through post-apocalyptic America, inching towards the sea in the hope of salvation. In Gérard DuBois' stunning illustrations, striking moments of tenderness between father and son provide bright spots amidst the desolation. Judge Posy Simmonds described the works as 'magnificent, rich, poignant and melancholic'.

Luisa Jung, Brain Fables: The Hidden History of Neurodegenerative Diseases and a Blueprint to Conquer Them by Alberto Espay and Benjamin Stecher. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020

Book Illustration Award shortlist

Kerry Hyndman, The Rich House by Stella Gibbons. Published by Penguin, 2021

Kerry Hyndman's work is primarily digital, incorporating hand drawn textures and layers to the image to add depth and detail. Observed from a clifftop, three women stroll across a beach. The encroaching sea and hovering seagull, and their footprints and shadows, suggest the setting of Gibbons' novel – a seaside resort on the eve of World War Two – and its story of intertwined relationships. The judges praised Hyndman's eye-catching composition and beautiful draughtmanship.

Lela Harris, The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Published by Folio Society, 2021

Book Cover Award shortlist

James Albon, 'Tiktok' by La ZEP, in Libération, 2021

James Albon's illustration accompanied an article, written by young people, speaking to their first-hand experiences of the social media platform Tiktok, especially its hypnotic and negative effects on their self-image and mental health. The hypnotizing effect of social media is destabilizing Albon's image: entranced by their phone, the figure's eyes swirl, as do their hair, clothes and bedding. The eerie nocturnal scene is created with a blue and yellow palette, working in watercolour and gouache. The judges praised the humour and energy of the work.

Alexis Tsegba, 'The price of having black hair in a white world' by Tamara Gilkes Borr, in The Economist's 1843 Magazine, 2021

Illustrated Journalism Award shortlist

Kate Rolfe, Navigating Dyslexia. Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)

In Kate Rolfe's work, letterpress characters form impenetrable forests, tumble from books and pile high in an overwhelming wave of anxiety. Based on her personal experience, Navigating Dyslexia combines cyanotype and letterpress processes to communicate the nuanced experience of a person with dyslexia. The judges praised its humour, simplicity and ingenuity. Using traditional printmaking in a non-conventional manner allows Rolfe to ask important questions in an accessible and engaging fashion.

Chenyue Yuan, Pearl’s Daughters. Royal College of Art

Jessica Ciccolone, Five Puffins in Antarctica. Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)

Klara Bianka Gryglicka, My Summer | Visual Diary. Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)

Yehyeon Yu, My Answer Sheet. Kingston University

Student Illustrator of the Year 2022 shortlist

Contact: villa@vam.ac.uk

The V&A has been running an illustration competition since 1972 when the Francis Williams Awards were presented for the best illustrated books. In 2004 new categories were introduced for Book Cover Design and for Editorial Illustration, covering illustration in newspapers, magazines and comics. Editorial Illustration has recently been renamed Illustrated Journalism. The student category was created in 2005, with a runner-up prize introduced in 2009.

The V&A Illustration Awards blog brings you the latest updates throughout the year including the shortlist and winner announcements. You can also hear from our previous winners and receive words of advice from former judges.