Museum to shine spotlight on Gen Z artists

The 16-25 age bracket is currently a 'cold spot' for the museums

A West Yorkshire museum is calling for artists aged between 16 and 25 to submit their work for a chance to feature in a new Gen Z exhibition.

Applicants can submit up to three pieces in media ranging from drawing and photography to sculpture and video, with the successful work going on show at Bradford Industrial Museum at the end of the year.

Artists must live, work or study in the district and it would give aspiring creatives a boost because life was "much more difficult for art graduates now", a Bradford Museums and Galleries spokesperson said.

Z Open 2025 is part of Bradford's Young Ambassadors project, and the deadline to submit work is 28 September.

The pieces will be judged by a panel of seven Young Ambassadors, who are hired by Bradford Council to be a "voice" for Bradford Museums and Galleries, as well as local creatives.

Ambassador Fatima Chan, 25, said the panel would look for "innovative, original and positive" creations and the theme was "absolutely anything".

Sonja Kielty, the museum's volunteer and talent manager, said the exhibition was important because the Gen Z age bracket was a "cold spot" curators were particularly keen to target.

"When you leave your GCSEs, A-levels or degree, there's not many opportunities to show your creative artwork now," she said.

"I'm an art graduate from 30 years ago, and it was so much easier then... we went to art college and didn't have big loans and debts."

The Young Ambassadors give the council feedback on what young people would like to see in museums

"You just could exhibit your work whenever and there were more grants but now opportunities are nigh-on impossible", Ms Kielty added.

It was also important to promote Gen Z work as A-level art courses were no longer offered by many secondary comprehensives, Ms Kielty said.

She added: "We need to share that museums are one of the places that we can facilitate and hold that."

There are three age prize categories - 16-18, 19-21 and 22-25 - and the winners of each will be announced at an event on 7 December, with a Public's Choice Award winner announced on 25 January 2026.

Bradford's Cartwright Hall Art Gallery is also hosting the Turner Prize for the first time from September until February and the Gen Z exhibition would be a "mini version of that", Ms Kielty said.

She added: "We want museum or gallery spaces to be somewhere where someone young feels welcomed, safe, comfortable and really inspired and even find it useful for jobs."

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