Fine Art student wins first prize in British Art Medal competition

BA (Hons) Fine Art student Sienna Williams has been awarded Grand First Prize in the prestigious British Art Medal Society’s Student Medal Project 2026.

The Student Medal Project was set up by the British Art Medal Society (BAMS) to promote the art of the medal in UK arts universities and colleges. BA (Hons) Fine Art students have been submitting work and winning prizes in the competition for a number of years, but this is the first time the medals were cast in-house in the University’s metalwork facilities.

Sienna was awarded the prize for her medal ‘Drowned Lands’. The medal was inspired by Llyn Efyrnwy / Lake Vyrnwy, a reservoir built in the late eighteenth century to supply water to Liverpool. In order for it to be built, the village of Llanwddy, including the school, church, and houses, was demolished so that the valley could be flooded. When the water level drops, the remains of the old village can be seen.

Sienna designed the medal to highlight Welsh displacement for an English water supply. The front of the medal shows the dam itself, whilst the back of the medal is the remains of the bridge that ran through the old village of Llanwddyn, which can be seen in hot summers when the water level is low.

The Grand First Prize is given by the Worshipful Company of Founders, who award £1000, and will purchase the winning medal, or pay for the casting of one for the Founders Collection. Sienna will also be invited to attend the BAMS Conference in Farnham, with all costs paid by a bursary from the Worshipful Company of Tin Plate Workers alias Wire Workers.