UWE Bristol student shortlisted in global art competition

A University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) student has been shortlisted in the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Wildlife Artist of the Year awards.

Alicia Hayden, who joined UWE Bristol’s MA Wildlife Filmmaking course last September, is nominated in the Human Impact category, which she won in the same competition last year with her piece ‘When the Whale Sang’.

Alicia said: “I’m really humbled to be a finalist in these awards for the second year in a row; the artworks entered into the competition are always utterly stunning and truly thought-provoking, so to be included in a virtual exhibition with some of the top wildlife artists in the world is an honour. I am so excited to have ‘High Lux’ and light pollution bought to the forefront of people’s attentions.”

After studying biology at Oxford University, Alicia started studying MA in Wildlife Filming at UWE Bristol. She’s now producing her final film for her course, which is looking at a Zimbabwean wildlife artist called Tich Ncube and how he uses art to conserve big game around Victoria Falls, particularly elephants.

She has also been working on various art and writing projects, including self-publishing an illustrated mini-collection of poems in partnership with The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and Dynamic Dunescapes, called “Every Dune is a Mountain”.

This year’s Wildlife Artist of the Year attracted 1,654 entrants from 850 artists across 55 countries. The winners of the competition will be announced from 18:30 on 31 August 2022 during a virtual awards ceremony.