On August 1, 2025, the Whitelock Art Center in New York officially held a press conference to announce the winners of “The Light from the Other Shore – 2025 New York International Art Competition”. The event revealed the list of awarded artists and their respective honors to artists, art enthusiasts, and the general public who have been following this international competition. The exhibition and related media coverage are scheduled to run from August 1 to 30, 2025.
From a sociological perspective, “the other shore” is not an abstract realm, but rather an ideal state closely intertwined with our current societal condition. Amid ongoing global crises, cultural disjunctions, and the reconstruction of identity, people yearn for “the other shore”—a more inclusive and just world for all. This longing is explored, confronted, and reflected upon through art. The participating artists come from diverse cultural, linguistic, and historical backgrounds, yet their works share a profound concern for the fate of a shared human community.
Trenlin Hubbert ‘The Shore of Consciousness’
The jury adopted a blind review scoring method, using an academic grading scale: A (90+), B (80–89), and C (70–79), to determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards respectively. Among all Gold Awards, the artist or category with the highest score was awarded the Grand Prize of the exhibition. The jury emphasized innovation in both concept and form, aligned with the competition’s curatorial theme “The Light from the Other Shore”. Artists were encouraged to engage in multi-media and multi-dimensional practices—including painting, installation, photography, video, visual arts, mixed media, and emerging forms such as digital generation and AI collaboration—to explore the contemporary imagination of “the other shore.” Rather than being confined to traditional aesthetic paradigms, the competition promoted a fluid, intersecting, and open artistic ecology.
Alexandra Finkelchtein ‘Seventh May 2025 Acrylic On Canvas’
Jessica Wascak ‘Veil’
Xiaonan Geng ‘Framed Freedom 2’
The final awardees of the New York International Art Competition include artists from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ukraine, South Korea, Vietnam, and Israel.
Zhen Hu ‘Mantis’
Award Winners:
Grand Prize of the Exhibition:
Trenlin Hubbert
Gold Awards:
Gold Award in Painting: Alexandra Finkelchtein
Gold Award in Photography: Jessica Wascak / Xiaonan Geng
Gold Award in Video & Installation: Xenia Wolfson (Julia Ninck Blok)
Gold Award in Visual Art: Zhen Hu
Silver Awards:
Elize / Iryna Kyselova / Joanne Jody Burke Baltzer / Nataliia V. Sakir / Fanglin Luo / Susanne Layla Petersen / Irene Lee
Bronze Awards:
Dasom Choi / Deb Chaney / Josephine Florens / Judy Waller / My Linh Mac / Xinyu Yu / Donghaiyue Liu / Brigitte B Burckhardt / Weng Jiayang / Jo Anderson / Pamela Beck
Xenia Wolfson (Julia Ninck Blok) ‘Random page Book of Regret’
Elize ‘acquaintance_30x40’
Iryna Kyselova ‘Nicholas of Japan’
Nataliia V. Sakir ‘Veins of the Earth 24×32 in, acrylic on canvas’
More urgently than ever, we must ask: What is “the other shore”? Is it a utopia beyond reality, or a projection of the inner self? How can one find faith and direction in a disordered world? “The Light from the Other Shore” is not just the theme of the 2025 New York International Art Competition—it is a gateway for philosophical, sociological, and artistic reflection. We hope that the artists’ independently conceived works will provoke deeper thought and heightened awareness among a broader audience.
Joanne Jody Burke Baltzer ‘The Inner Path 2025 Acrylic Paint’
Fanglin Luo ‘ME & GODDESS & ME’
Susanne Layla Petersen-Shadows-2025-video-still-b
Irene Lee ‘Shards of Self 1’
Media Contact
Company Name: Whitelock Art Center
Contact Person: Samantha Lee
Country: United States
Website: https://www.whitelockartcenter.com/