Two Ballakermeen students have been put forward for a special award from the Sovereign Art Foundation (SAF).

The SAF has announced the shortlist of the ‘2025 Global edition’ of its annual art prize for secondary school students, with £4,300 in grants on offer for winning artists and their schools.

Among the young artists vying for the title of ‘Global’ winner are the winners from the Isle of Man students prize – Daniel Lawrie and Lula Thomas, both of Ballakermeen High School.

Daniel Lawrie has been nominated for the piece ‘Time of my Life’, while Lula Thomas’s 'Complexity' led to her nomination.

Other nominees for the ‘Global’ prize hail from countries such as Gibraltar, Cyprus, Singapore, Portugal, Hong Kong and Guernsey, with there being 18 different nominees in total.

These finalists were previously named winners in their respective regions during 2024/25, being selected either by a local judging panel or cinching the popular vote from members of the public.

All the works are also currently collated in an online exhibition.

Launched in Hong Kong in 2003, SAF is a non-profit organisation that promotes contemporary art talent through its international art prizes, while raising funds for various charitable programmes.

A spokesperson from SAF commented: ‘The Sovereign Art Foundation students prizes run in 12 countries and are designed to celebrate the importance of art in the education system.

‘This is done by identifying talented young artists and rewarding successful secondary-school art programmes, to the benefit of a greater number of students.’

From this most recent Global presentation, one ‘Global Judges’ Prize’ will be awarded to the student selected by a jury comprised of noted professionals.

These professionals include: Arpita Akhanda, artist and winner of the Grand Prize for The 2025 Sovereign Art Foundation Asian Prize; Howard Bilton, founder and chairman of SAF; Heidi Erdmann Rasch, curator and art historian; Caroline Greyling, museum director of Norval Foundation; and Tiffany Pinkstone, executive director of SAF.

The public will also be invited to vote for their favourite work, with the most popular piece to receive the title of ‘Global Public Vote Prize Winner’.

Votes can be cast online until midday on Wednesday, April 30.

The spokesperson added: ‘SAF has a well-defined twin focus: to recognise, support, and promote contemporary art talent, and to bring the proven benefits of expressive arts to disadvantaged children.

‘Since 2003, SAF has raised nearly $14 million and helped thousands of children around the world, as well as giving hundreds of artists an international platform and a career boost.

‘SAF also runs art prizes for students in Bahrain, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Malta, Mauritius, Portugal, Singapore, and the UK (London and Chester).

‘Believing that art and artistic endeavour are under-appreciated and under-taught in schools, SAF uses the prizes to encourage students to participate in and appreciate art.

‘This latest global competition will enable cultural exchange between nations, showcasing artworks by the most talented and promising students from across the world.’

The online exhibition runs until Thursday, May 1, when the winners will be announced.