The One Club for Creativity has opened the call for entries for Young Guns 22, the global competition to celebrate international creative professionals age 30 or younger.
Young Guns is the industry’s only global, cross-disciplinary, portfolio-based awards competition that identifies and celebrates today’s vanguard of young creatives. The program is open to creatives ages 30 and under who have been working for at least two years, full-time or freelance. Eligible entrants can submit a combination of professional and personal work.
The online entry system is open, with the reduced-fee early deadline of June 27, 2024, regular deadline July 11, 2024, and final deadline July 25, 2024. Winners will be announced in the fall.
Program branding and design of the YG Cube award itself is reimagined each year by a past Young Gun winner. This year’s YG22 branding was created by renowned New York-based designer, illustrator, muralist, and author Timothy Goodman (YG7).
The competition regularly attract entries from upwards of 45 countries, with more than half coming from outside the US. Winners will be selected by a jury made up of past Young Guns winners and other creative leaders, to be announced shortly.
Continuing this year is the Levine/Leavitt Young Guns Assistance Program, open to illustrators and photographers who qualify for YG22 but may not have the means to enter with ease. Successful applicants receive free entry into the competition courtesy of Levine/Leavitt. Deadline for the new program is June 27, 2024.
Levine/Leavitt is a long-time YG partner, also offering its Artists-in-Residence Award in which the artist rep firm provides one YG winner with a full year of artist and career management representation.
The submission deadline for COLORFUL, a separate YG grant program to help young BIPOC creatives around the world advance their careers, is June 27, 2024. There is no fee to apply, and the grant is open globally to BIPOC creatives who qualify for YG22.
All Young Guns winners receive a unique version of the iconic Young Guns Cube, designed exclusively for this year’s incoming class, and have their permanent profile page added to the Young Guns website. Winners also receive a complimentary one-year One Club for Creativity membership, permanent membership in the Young Guns network, a chance to be featured in Young Guns events and an assortment of career-boosting opportunities from Young Guns sponsors.
Past Young Guns include rising stars who went on to become leaders in their chosen fields, including Oscar-winning film director duo DANIELS (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) (YG14), “Top Gun Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski (YG4); graphic designers James Victore (YG1), Stefan Sagmeister (YG1), Natasha Jen (YG4) and Jessica Walsh (YG8); artist/designer Rich Tu (YG8); ad creatives Rei Inamoto (YG4) and Menno Kluin (YG6); illustrators Christoph Niemann (YG2) and Deanne Cheuk (YG4); fashion designer Kerby Jean-Raymond (YG14); artist/filmmaker Calmatic (YG16); director/photographer India Sleem (YG17); photographer Ryan McGuinness (YG2); typographers Alex Trochut (YG6) and Gemma O’Brien (YG13); animation artist Todd St. John (YG1), and others.
