Hand & Lock Prize
All images courtesy of Hand & Lock, finalists and winners 2020. Above, work by Olga Ochkas.
Calling all embroiderers: the Hand & Lock prize is open for registration. The annual Hand & Lock Prize for Embroidery was established in 2000 to give new designers, interested in embroidery, the opportunity to showcase their talents and gain vital exposure and experience. In recent years it has expanded to include textile artists, interior and accessory designers as well as those working in fashion. The competition strives to highlight the exquisite craftsmanship and skill that goes into this intricate craft and bring the whole embroidery community together to celebrate.
Image: Work by Daisy Rawson.
Each year the Prize opens with an online registration followed by a two month window when entrants can upload evidence of their work. Entrants are encouraged to follow a specially written brief. The 2021 brief is: Digital Doppelgangers in a Virtual Universe: “Consider which aspects of your personal identity that are shown and which are hidden in changing contexts. Through embroidery celebrate, champion or critique your chosen online or offline communities. Take time to reflect upon your corporeal self versus within the habitat that sustains you in contrast with your virtual identity within the digital universe that connects you to others."
Image: Work by Eva Van Den.
"Through hand or machine embroidery explore the joys, opportunities, dangers and fears presented by our hyper connected world. Celebrate, champion or critique your chosen online or offline communities and share your vision of this digitally mediated universe. Your embroidery should aim to capture the dynamism and duality of a life lived on and offline. Take advantage of the latest virtual cultural offerings to inspire your visual language and look at your surroundings to discover the beauty in the everyday.”
If selected for the second round, you will work with an expert mentor to perfect your submission in time for a final live judging event. For your chance to win a share of the total prize fund of $35,000, register before 31st March 2021 here.