The top contender will take home the grand prize of R100 000, with the category finalists each receiving R50 000, and runners-up R15 000 each. The awards, launched in 2014, have rapidly become one of the country’s largest and richest art and design prizes to support emerging creatives.

Having evolved from the longstanding PPC Young Concrete Sculptor Awards, the PPC Imaginarium Awards encourage artists and designers to create and express their abilities using Portland cement-based concrete as a primary base or material. The emphasis is placed on innovation – a criterion that has resulted in dynamic and progressive works that truly push the limits of cement and excite the imagination. In addition to the monetary rewards, category winners will also receive career development opportunities and mentorship from various thought leaders in their respective industries.

A total of 47 regional finalists were selected from 698 entries. Their works will be part of a travelling exhibition, which will move from Cape Town to the UJ Art Gallery (open to the public from Friday, 4 to Thursday, 24 March 2016), and then on to Pretoria in the first half of 2016. In the latter half of the year, the exhibition will feature at the Turbine Art Fair and at 100% Design South Africa, both taking place in Johannesburg.

Awards director and well-known architect Daniel van der Merwe considers the standard of this year’s entries as exceptional: “We can already see that the exhibition of the finalists’ work is going to prove exciting and stimulating for the public. All of this attests to the validity of the PPC Imaginarium Awards and their relevance in the South African art and design context as a platform for promoting emerging talent.”

Submissions were judged by a regional panel of industry heavyweights, chosen for their notable achievements in their respective sectors.

The finalists are:

Film

Category winner: Kyle Goulden
Runner-up: Francois Knoetze and Zara Julius

Fashion
 
Category winner: Hester Erasmus

Industrial design
Category winner: August de Wet
Runner-up: Ivan Brown

Sculpture
Category winner: Janna Kruger
Runner-up: Esther Pohl

Jewellery

Category Winner: Mignon Dauberman

The PPC Imaginarium Awards Exhibition is taking place from Friday, 4 to Thursday, 24 March 2016 at the UJ Art Gallery, which is situated on the APK Campus on the corner of Kingsway/University Road in Auckland Park. The gallery is open Mondays to Fridays from 09:00 to 16:00. It is closed on weekends.  
  
For more information, visit www.ppcimaginarium.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Twitter.