Call in progress, by Friday, October 31, 2025

ELEANOR WORTHINGTON AWARD 2025 - Twelfth Edition

Intended for STUDENTS of ART SCHOOLS at UNIVERSITY LEVEL EDUCATION

With the free Patronage of the University Carlo Bo of Urbino, the Municipality of Urbino, the Raffaello Academy of Urbino, ISIA of Rome, ADI Marche, Abruzzo, Molise Zone, in collaboration with York St John University and York Disability Rights Forum;
and with the support of the National Gallery of the Marche; ANFFAS Fermignano, Urbania, Urbino; and various institutions.

THEME:
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
DISABILITY AND STRENGTH

1. THE THEME

On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, celebrated by the United Nations on December 3rd each year, the Eleanor Worthington Award Association – ODV (APEW-ODV) announces the twelfth edition of the Award in memory of Eleanor Worthington, reserved for students of art schools at university-level education.

Eleanor Worthington (York, UK, 1982 - Urbino, Italy, 2008) was an extremely intelligent and sensitive person, with remarkable personality strength, who suffered from severe learning difficulties, behavioral issues, and epilepsy. She was always able to communicate, even though in her final years she could no longer speak or move. She led a life full of affection, social relationships, and experiences, both in England and in Italy, where she attended five years of the State Institute of Art (now the Liceo Artistico) in Urbino.

This year, APEW-ODV proposes the following theme for the award:

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
DISABILITY AND STRENGTH

People with disabilities often face great challenges every day just to handle ordinary life. Many everyday situations—study, work, interpersonal relationships, social life in general, and even entertainment and communication—can require special effort and commitment. As examples of very different disabilities that face similar challenges, consider motor disabilities and autism.

This courageous, often unnoticed strength becomes a source of inspiration and comfort when reflected upon by those without disabilities and can, in turn, bring about substantial transformations in how people approach their lives.

2. PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES

All techniques of visual communication are accepted (e.g., painting, sculpture, illustration, animation, graphic design, engraving, jewelry, photography, design, lettering, video, and new technologies), including references to physical expressions such as mime, sign language, sports disciplines, fitness, and dance.

Participants must provide the following information:

• Candidate's surname and name, title of the work (in Italian and English), affiliated institution, city.

• Anonymous images and audio descriptions;

Animations and videos must be submitted in two versions: one with the candidate’s name and institution, and one anonymous version for the jury.

Animations and videos must not exceed 3 minutes in duration and must be in MP4 format, H264 compression.

Each work may include a brief concept (maximum 400 characters, including spaces) for presentation on the website. The concept must be written in Italian and English, in .doc or .docx format.

For any VR works, precise codes must be provided for proper viewing.

Each work must be accompanied by a short audio description (not the concept) to make it accessible to visually impaired individuals. The audio description must not exceed 2 minutes and should be presented in both Italian and English, in MP3 format.

Upload and submission of works will be done on the GEP platform. Below are the instructions for using the platform (please copy, paste, and open):

https://eleanorprize.org/media/pdf/school_3/eng/GEP_eng_User_Manual_sch3.pdf

Upload and submission must be completed by Friday, October 31, 2025.

To facilitate the creation of the audio description, two videos are available for static works and videos at the following address:

https://www.premioeleanor.it/istruzioni
User: user
Password: pr4m10

3. EVALUATION

The entries will be evaluated anonymously by the Jury, composed of:

• Bruno Bartoccini, ANFFAS of Fermignano, Urbania, and Urbino

• Giulio Calegari, Artist and Paleoethnologist

• Griselda Goldsbrough, Arts Development Manager for the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

• Kimbal Bumstead, Artist

• Mariella Roberti, Psychopedagogist

• Martin Worthington, Associate Professor, Trinity College, Dublin, member of the Worthington family

• Arianna Moreschini, Giovanna Molinelli, Master internazionale in Accessibility to Media, Arts and Culture, Universita' di Macerata

Note that the evaluation of the audio description by a specialized judge contributes fully alongside other judgments to formulate the overall assessment of each participant.

4. PRIZES

The winners of the Award will be announced on the website by Friday, November 28, 2025. First, second, and third prizes, as well as special prizes, will be awarded.

For each prize level, two awards will be given: one for a student from an Italian institution and one for a student from an international institution.

First Prizes: €500.

Alternatively, if preferred, the first prize consists of a week of board and lodging at the University of Urbino’s colleges in August 2026, coinciding with an event organized by the Association in Urbino.

A travel allowance will be provided.

Any changes regarding accommodation conditions will be announced on the website.

Second Prizes: €300 each, offered by the Municipality of Urbino.

Third Prizes: Art books.

The Special Mark Bailey Prize , equivalent to a first prize, is reserved for students enrolled in an institution based in York.

The Special Prize of the Social Territorial Area IV of the Marche Region , worth €300, will be awarded to students enrolled in one of the institutions based in Urbino.

The Special Amicucci/Maimeri Prize consists of art supplies.

The award ceremony will take place at the Conference Hall, Palazzo Ducale of Urbino, on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 10:00 AM, via Zoom connection with York St John University. A LIS interpreter will be present.

During the ceremony, the winning works will be shown to the public in digital format.

Attendance will also be possible online, with details provided closer to the event.

Some videos will be shown at the Pesaro International Film Festival in June 2025.

All details to be announced in due course on the web site.

SELECTED VIDEOS WILL BE SHOWN IN THE 2026 PESARO FILM FESTIVAL

https://www.pesarofilmfest.it/en/

5. EXHIBITIONS

All participating works will be exhibited in Urbino at the Albani Gallery.

The exhibition, curated by Nunzia Invernizzi, Artistic Director of the Association, will open at 11:30 AM on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, immediately after the award ceremony.

All participating works will also be displayed at the exhibition held at York St John University in spring 2026. The exhibition will be curated by Helen Turner, Associate Head of Art (details on location and dates to be specified on the website).

6. WEBSITE

https://www.eleanorprize.org/ (available in Italian and English).

7. CONSENT

Each candidate expressly authorizes the Eleanor Worthington Award Association and its legal representative to process the personal data transmitted under Law 675/96 (Privacy Law) and subsequent amendments D. Lgs. 196/2003 (Privacy Code), including for inclusion in databases managed by the Association itself. Each participant grants the Eleanor Worthington Award Association free rights to reproduce the works and concepts submitted, solely for potential publication on the Award’s website and other forms of communication, promotion, and activities of the Association. Those who do not wish to have their works featured on the Award’s website must declare so at the time of registration. The competition organizers reserve the final decision on all matters not specified in this announcement.

Additionally, each candidate expressly authorizes the Eleanor Worthington Award Association and its legal representative to confirm the candidate’s affiliation with the educational institution indicated at the time of registration.

The organization reserves the right to make changes to this announcement if necessary.

8. PARTNERS
The Prize is run in cooperation with York St John University, and of the Corso di Perfezionamento-Scuola del Libro, Urbino;
with the sponsorship of the University Carlo Bo of Urbino, Accademia Belle Arti, Urbino; Accademia Raffaello, Urbino; ISIA Roma-Pordenone;
the Associazione Disegno Industriale (ADI branch of Marche, Abruzzo, Molise;
and with the support of the York Disability Rights Forum, of the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino; of the ANFFAS Fermignano, Urbania,
Urbino; and of various institutions.

Urbino, March 15, 2025