:: Qantas Spirit Of Youth Awards 2012

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

Registrations are now open for the Qantas Spirit Of Youth Awards 2011_2012.

The Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards (SOYA), the leading award for Australia‟s best emerging artists, designers, and creatives, has unveiled an exciting new format which will see SOYA become a year round initiative. Talented Australians aged 30 and under across eleven creative fields - fashion, interactive content and gaming, written word, visual design and communications, film and video, photography, visual arts, craft and object design, music, architecture and interior design and animation - are invited to submit their work for a chance to receive financial support in the form of $5000 in cash, as well as a rare 12-month mentorship opportunity with leading luminaries from the international creative community. This year, winners will also be sent on the trip-of-a-lifetime to premiere industry only events at the forefront of their fields.

For 201½012, SOYA announces a stellar line-up of inspirational mentors; Marc Newson (Design), Nicky and Simone Zimmermann (Fashion), Robert Luketic (Film and Video), Polly Borland (Photography), Lee Groves (Music), Elizabeth Ann Macgregor (Visual Arts), Vince Frost (Visual Design and Communications), Ashley Ringrose and Brad Eldridge (Interactive Content and Gaming), Markus Zusak (Written Word), Brian Zulaikha (Architecture and Interior Design) and Marco Marenghi (Animation). As success stories in their respective fields, these industry leaders know that getting a break and having the right doors opened can help launch a creative career.

SOYA is now open for submissions, with one new creative category closing every month. All submissions can be made through the new SOYA365 hub

Creative Categories
In 2012, closing dates and categories are as follows:
Fashion Friday, December 9 2011
Interactive Content & Gaming Friday, January 13 2012
Written Word Friday, February 3 2012
Visual Design & Communications Friday, March 2 2012
Film & Video Friday, March 30 2012
Photography Friday, May 4 2012
Animation Friday, June 1 2012
Craft and Object Design Friday, July 6 2012
Music Friday, August 3 2012
Architecture & Interior Design Friday, September 7 2012
Visual Arts Friday, October 5 2012

The program will close with a People‟s Choice award, voted by the community from the top ten in each category throughout the year.