MullenLowe NOVA Awards 2020 Judges Trends

Each year certain themes emerge from the work submitted to the MullenLowe NOVA Awards and 2020 has been no exception.  

Whilst many of the projects deal with problems we all face, what made the work different this year, is that the students approached these from a very personal point of view, stemming from their own conception of individuality and identity which brought to light some very interesting ideas and solutions.  

Hannah Hayes-Westall, 2020 MullenLowe NOVA Awards judge and co-founder of FAD Magazine says: “I think that what we’ve seen in the pieces is a strong focus on the nature of identity and what that perspective on identity means for individuals and society itself. While there have been pieces that have looked at sustainability issues, immigration, gender, infection, representation, all of them, for me, have been connected by our evolving perception of identity and the role that it plays in how we approach ideas.”  

Alongside this, Ana Solokoff, another of the judges for the 2020 MullenLowe NOVA Awards and founding partner, solokoff + associates, commented that one of the main themes that was evident in the work was the students’ awareness of humans as social beings. “They identified how important it is to people to be part of a social enclave. This is something that is new to the art world which has come up through the pandemic, and realised through the periods of seclusion the students have faced.” This really gave the judges a sense of how these students are connected to the world around us and how they are engaging and reacting in thoughtful ways. 

All of the projects have of course responded to the pandemic, however the way the students adapted their work to this new way of thinking and living really came to light. Not only have they questioned the different ways in which we can respond to the crisis, either through our own personal actions, or by giving tangible, practical solutions. 

Finally, technology was something the judges talked about a lot. Of course, the degree shows, judging and Awards presentation had to move online at short notice, but we also saw the students using technology such as AR and VR in very creative ways. The students had to utilise the media and technology they had at hand to, both to produce their work and also present and communicate it. This undoubtedly had an impact on the students and their final project pieces.