HOME

INTRODUCTION

THE INTERNATIONAL
PRIZE WINNERS

THE PAINTINGS

THE JUDGING

THE AWARDS CEREMONY

EXHIBITIONS & MORE

PRESS INFORMATION

SITE MAP

FOREWORDS

STEVE PLEUNE - Managing Director, Winsor & Newton

Winsor & Newton was founded in England in 1832 by the chemist William Winsor and the painter Henry Newton. Throughout its long and successful history, the Winsor & Newton brand has developed a proud tradition of producing fine art materials of the highest quality. The name Winsor & Newton has become synonymous with fine art materials throughout the world.

Listening and responding to the needs of artists, whether they are professional or student, committed or just beginning, is central to our philosophy. As we approached the millennium, it was a natural extension of this 'listening' principle for Winsor & Newton to sponsor what has developed into the world's largest international painting competition.

Our aims were threefold: to reward artistic excellence; to look at the countries of the world through the eyes of artists; and to celebrate the millennium with a unique and historically important exhibition of world art. Our aspirations for the competition were modest when we began planning, but as with most good ideas they grew as we shared them with people outside the company. This helped us see the potential for making the project one which will be remembered for years.

Many people and organisations have made our dream a reality. I would especially like to thank HRH The Prince of Wales and Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, for their invaluable support. Their staff have been extremely helpful, especially Michael Fawcett from The Office of HRH The Prince of Wales, and Valerie Hampton-Mason from the United Nations. The international distributors worked tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of 51 national competitions, and our international managers gave them admirable assistance. I am particularly grateful to all the competition judges worldwide for their commitment. The successful coordination of the competition was largely due to George Frangeskou of Winsor & Newton, who administered it with great enthusiasm. I am indebted to Sheeran Lock for organising the international judging, curating the exhibition, arranging its tour, and producing this exceptional publication.

Finally, I would like to thank the 22,500 artists worldwide who entered the competition and shared their aspirations and anxieties for Our World in the Year 2000. Perhaps through them we will have a better understanding of the need to act to make our world a better place for future generations.