LONDON.- This past week, a talented group of young creatives saw their award winning work supersized and posted on billboards across the UK as part of this year’s ‘Who Are You?’ competition. The twenty winners of the competition were also treated to a gallery exhibition of their work at the Hellenic Centre and an open top bus journey of London in order to view their winning entries, which are being displayed on digital billboards along Tottenham Court Road.

The annual ‘Who Are You?’ competition developed and organised by the Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), aims to give budding creatives between the ages of 14-19 the opportunity to express themselves by asking them to create a poster which states who they feel they are.

On hand to judge this year’s entries were a host of leading lights in the creative industry; most notably the world renowned photographer Rankin and young artist Stuart Semple. Also involved in the judging process were representatives from a number of the UK’s leading advertising agencies who helped to develop a shortlist of potential winners, which were then put to a public vote on Facebook. The final voting process attracted 11,493 public votes – making this the competition’s most successful year to date.

The 20 winners’ of this year’s competition will see their work posted on 48 sheet billboards located in prime locations across the UK. The posters, which have been provided by outdoor media specialists JCDecaux, will be on display for the last two weeks of May.

As well as receiving entries from across the UK, the ‘Who Are You?’ competition also attracted entries from as far afield as the Czech Republic and even India - showcasing the competition’s truly international appeal.

Simon Pride, Head of Marketing at the AUB, said:“At AUB our biggest goal is to help young people attain their dream career. The ‘Who Are You?’ competition helps us to achieve this goal and gives young creatives a huge platform on which to display their talent – 48 sheet billboards. In fact, the competition gives all entrants the opportunity to have their work scrutinized by some of the best creative minds in the UK industry.

“This year we’ve received some really outstanding entries, which suggests that the creative industries in the UK have a really bright future. With the support of JCDecaux, our judging panel, and the public voting on facebook, we’ve been able to whittle these down to just 20 which we feel represent exemplary creative work.”

Commenting on her winning entry, Jenny Benson, 15, from Lightwater in Surrey said: “It’s brilliant. I can’t say I’ve ever won a competition which other people have entered before, let alone an art competition, so it’s really fantastic. To have produced one of the winning entries is something I’m really proud of. Developing my entry really gave me something to focus my efforts on and has given me a real insight into what a career might be like in the creative industries. This win has really inspired me to continue working hard and to carry on pursuing my dream of one day working in the creative sector.”

To view the winning entries, visit the AUB’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/inspiredAUB or the website www.aub.ac.uk/whoareyou2.