Jaguar has announced the shortlist for the Jaguar Arts Awards, founded in partnership with the Royal College of Art (RCA). A jury of experts from multiple disciplines have selected 20 artworks in response to a brief that asked artists to ‘Copy Nothing’ – an ethos instilled by Jaguar’s founder Sir William Lyons.
In September, a ceremony attended by leading figures from the arts will reveal the final five winners. Each will be awarded a grant to support their next creative endeavour, with the Gerry McGovern award recognising one artist with the programme’s highest distinction.
The awards are designed to celebrate artists whose individual practice aligns with Jaguar’s purpose to ‘champion originality’, with bold, fearlessly creative pieces.
The competition was open to all Fine and Applied Art Masters’ students, with the final shortlist spanning a diverse variety of mediums including sculpture, painting, photography, ceramics and glass. Many shortlisted works, distinguished as finalists in the Jaguar Art Awards, were spotlighted at the RCA2025: School of Arts & Humanities Show – a series of exhibitions, events and activities celebrating the work of graduating RCA students from 19-22 June.
An in-depth evaluation of the submitted works was undertaken by a diverse jury with significant expertise across multiple artistic disciplines. The jury included JLR’s Chief Creative Officer Professor Gerry McGovern OBE alongside RCA Alumni from the Jaguar Creative team and artists from other creative fields, including furniture design and multidisciplinary visual arts.
Professor, Gerry McGovern OBE, Chief Creative Officer, said: “The Jaguar Arts Awards are about celebrating bold, fearless artistic vision—work that challenges convention and dares to stand apart. As part of the jury, I have been inspired by the breadth of talent in the submissions. The shortlisted works all embody the spirit of Jaguar: vibrant distinctive, and unapologetically original.”
Embodying the ethos the awards will spotlight, last year Jaguar unveiled its new brand and design vision, Type 00, at Miami Art Week. With the brand’s history rooted in creativity and ‘copy nothing’, a term used by Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons to eschew the norm, Jaguar reimagined captured the attention of over a billion people worldwide.
