With the success of the 2020 art prize competition, and due to a generous donation by Professor Martin Johnson, Christ's is delighted to announce that the theme of this year’s competition is ‘Touch’.

In a year when our lives have all been affected by the pandemic, the importance of immediate contact, and of the tactile sense, have become particularly apparent. As the curators of an upcoming exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum on this theme have said: ‘Touch is our first sense. Through touch we make art, stake a claim to what we own and those we love, express our faith, our belief, our anger. Touch is how we leave our mark and find our place in the world; touch is how we connect.

The competition is open to all current members of the College (staff, students and Fellows). Entries can take any form (from portrait and group portrait through narrative panels, sculpture, film and abstract work) and any medium, and should be accompanied by a brief explanation of how they address the theme and where in College (e.g. the Hall, Upper Hall, Buttery, Library Corridor and so on) they might practically be exhibited. The circumstances of the pandemic allowing, it is the intention that the winning entry will be publicly exhibited for a fixed period.

The deadline for submission of entries will be 6pm on Tuesday 27 April 2021. To enter the competition, please e-mail a high resolution photograph of your work, its medium, dimensions, title, and rationale of fit in terms of theme and possible display to Professor Carrie Vout (cv103@cam.ac.uk) by this date. Short-listed entries must then be delivered to Professor Vout c/o Clare Kitcat in O1 of First Court by 12.00 noon on Tuesday 11 May 2021, with the winner and a runner up being notified before the end of Easter full term.  A prize of £350 will be awarded to the winner, and £100 to the runner-up.  Names of the judging panel will be published in the New Year.