MullenLowe Group and Central Saint Martins Launch 2021 MullenLowe NOVA Awards

MullenLowe Group is proud to announce their continued partnership with Central Saint Martins, sponsoring their annual degree shows and presenting the MullenLowe NOVA Awards for Fresh Creative Talent. 

This year marks 10 years of partnership with the leading art, design and performance college, formed to support emerging talent, creative excellence, and innovation. The MullenLowe NOVA Awards celebrate some of the most exceptional work from across the college by giving students a platform for recognition and the opportunity to extend their thinking beyond the educational environment. 

Jose Miguel Sokoloff, global president, MullenLowe Group global creative council says: “Over the last decade, the MullenLowe NOVA Awards have focused the attention of the creative community onto some of the most outstanding emerging talent. Central Saint Martins’ students have challenged us to view things through a different lens and taught us how to use creativity in response to the world around us. It’s been a privilege to give graduating artists, designers and innovators a platform for recognition, and to shine a light on the artistry, ingenuity and excellence of these brilliant minds. 

“The Central Saint Martins degree shows are one of my favourite events in the calendar year, offering an exciting opportunity to stay in touch with creativity in its purest form. I’m continually amazed at how connected the students are to the world around us and how they are engaging and reacting with purpose. I’m sure this year will be no exception,” he continued. 

Professor Jeremy Till, head of Central Saint Martins and pro vice-chancellor of the University of the Arts London, says: “Over the past year I have observed the extraordinary care and commitment from our staff towards their students and sensed the courage and ability of those students to adapt to challenging circumstances. As you go through the brilliant work on the graduate showcase, you will find care, commitment, bravery and agility – virtues that show ways that an institution such as Central Saint Martins can and should engage with the global challenges of social justice and the climate emergency. I am delighted that MullenLowe Group continue to show such dedicated support to us at CSM, and that our longstanding collaboration through the MullenLowe NOVA Awards champions and celebrates the work of our students.”

From today, all nominees for the 2021 MullenLowe NOVA Awards will be exhibited online at the Central Saint Martins Graduate Showcase, covering courses across art, design, fashion and performance. From 1,300 graduating students, 49 are nominated, 14 are shortlisted and just six awards are presented to students whose work represents truly original creative thinking and execution. The shortlist will be announced in July and winners will be announced in an online ceremony in August.

In addition to one overall winner and two runners up, MullenLowe Group client, Unilever, will present the #Unstereotype Award to recognise work that breaks away from limiting and outdated stereotypes. New for 2021, Creative Boom, a leading platform dedicated to the creative industries, will choose the winner of the inaugural Creative Boom Conscious Award, given to a project that reflects, responds to, or champions lasting positive change in today's society. For the 6th consecutive year, the winner of the YourNOVA Award will be chosen by the public. Voting for the ‘people’s choice’ award will open online later this month.   

Winners will be chosen by panel of experts across art, design and advertising. Among the panel, is the founder of the MullenLowe NOVA Awards, Tony Wright; the first ever winner, Isak Åkerlund; and recipient of the 2020 MullenLowe NOVA Award and YourNOVA ‘People’s Choice’ Award, Sandra Poulson.