News / 23 Apr 2026
Master's students win ‘Ones to Watch’ Awards
MA Creative Practice
MA Fine Art
MA Fine Art student Michael Campbell and MA Creative Practice student Jude Kershaw have picked up awards at Ones to Watch, an annual exhibition of emerging talent at Sunny Bank Mills, Leeds.
Dedicated to the significance of everyday engagements with animals, with an unashamed bias for feline friends, Michael’s work captures heartfelt moments and celebrates the individuality of each subject. Forever drawn to the natural world and the animals that reside within it, Michael draws his subjects from his lived experience, and they help him navigate questions through their presence in his work. ‘Companion’, his work exhibited in ‘Ones to Watch’, navigates his personal connection to his cat Misty.
Michael was awarded the Ones to Watch People's Choice Award, voted for by visitors to the exhibition. Sunny Bank Mills have provided Michael with a three-month residency in their Twisting Studios, which includes supported check-ins and opportunities to platform his work on their website and social media channels.
"I’m absolutely thrilled to be receiving the People’s Choice Award. It’s so motivating to hear that people connected with my work and enjoyed seeing my Mistys around the gallery. I’m very grateful to everyone who thought to write my name down for this opportunity. I can’t wait to get creating in the studio!”
Michael Campbell, MA Fine Art student
MA Creative Practice student Jude Kershaw is a historian, performer, and artist based in Leeds, using theatre and visual art forms to challenge historical injustices and hegemonic structures. The images exhibited in ‘Ones to Watch’ depict Jude in her work across 2025; the Victorian Music Hall star reduced to playing cabaret, a woman fascist from the 1930s (as depicted in 'Blackskirts', 2025), and as herself. 'Blackskirts' was a piece of street theatre inspired by an image taken at The Battle of Holbeck Moor, showing an injured young woman fascist being carried away by her non-fascist friends.
Jude was awarded the prize by Yorkshire Contemporary, who partnered with Sunny Bank Mills to offer a new award as part of this year’s exhibition, providing three emerging artists with the opportunity to participate in their Practice Professional Development Programme.
"I'm delighted to be offered this award from Yorkshire Contemporary; I'm looking forward to working with them soon. Minority and radical histories are often under-represented in the arts and heritage sectors. I'm glad to see that this is now being noted; history should be for everyone. I'm grateful for the support I have received from the university, Sunny Bank and my peers."
Jude Kershaw, MA Creative Practice student
Ones to Watch is an opportunity for emerging artists to exhibit in a professional, established independent gallery with extensive social media and website coverage and thousands of visitors annually. The participating artists were selected by a panel of judges, including visual artist Aliyah Hussain, Cat Scott MRSS, an established international contemporary artist, Hayley Dixon, Director of Yorkshire Contemporary, and the Sunny Bank Mills Arts Team.
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