Every brushstroke, photograph, sketch, or sculpture tells a story – and some artists tell them so powerfully that they leave a lasting imprint on the world. The VAA Artist of the Year Awards celebrate those rare creatives whose work not only captivates but also challenges and transforms.
In this post, we take a look back at some of the most influential past winners of the VAA Artist of the Year Awards. We’ll explore how the honour has shaped their journeys, and reflect on the impact these artists continue to have on their communities and the global art scene. Whether you’re an art lover, a student, or an aspiring creator, these stories offer inspiration and insight into the power of artistic excellence.
Artist of the Year Overall Winner 2024: Bea Last
Bea Last is a dynamic force in the contemporary art world, an accomplished artist, dedicated mentor, and passionate educator. Her bold, process-driven practice has been recognised both nationally and internationally, with recent highlights including her selection as a finalist for the prestigious Laguna Arte Prize in Venice and the Aesthetica Art Prize in York in 2023.
Currently based in Scotland, Bea brings a distinctive perspective to her art practice, shaped by the experience of living in a place she wasn’t born in.
This sense of both not quite belonging and belonging everywhere informs her deep connection to both inner and outer landscapes. It’s this perspective that fosters a globally-minded, outward-looking approach – one rooted in curiosity, connection, and a desire to engage with the wider world.
Bea’s journey began as a painter, but over time her art has evolved into a dynamic exploration of form and material. She now works at the crossroads of drawing, painting, and sculpture, creating pieces that are process-led, tactile, and expressive. Open to experimentation and evolution, Bea allows the creative process to guide her, embracing wherever it 
may lead next.
Her work is guided by presence and place, shaped by her unique perspective as someone who navigates the spaces in between. Through this, she invites others to reflect on their own relationships to belonging, identity, and the landscapes, both physical and emotional that shape us.
In 2024, Bea’s dedication and impact were celebrated when she was named VAA Artist of the Year, a recognition of her outstanding creative work and contribution to the wider visual arts community. When reflecting on her win Bea stated:
Beyond her studio practice, Bea plays a vital role in nurturing the next generation of artists. She leads the UpLand Arts Visual Arts Studio Portfolio Preparation Course, an intensive programme supporting young people preparing for entry into art school. Her mentorship extends to both emerging and established artists, offering creative guidance, career development, and professional support.
Whether in the gallery or the classroom, Bea Last continues to inspire with her creativity, generosity, and deep belief in the power of art to transform lives and communities.
Artist of the Year Overall Winner 2023: SaeRi Seo
SaeRi Seo is a ceramic artist whose practice fearlessly blends personal history with cultural tradition. After earning her BA in Ceramics from Seoul Women’s University, she continued her studies with a Master’s in Ceramics and Makers at Cardiff Metropolitan University, graduating in 2022.
Her bold, thought-provoking work has earned her recognition across the UK art scene, including exhibitions such as NAE Open 2023 at New Art Exchange, the RBA Rising Stars Exhibition at The Royal Over-Seas League, and a finalist nomination for the BADA Art Award in 2022.
In 2023, SaeRi was named VAA Professional Artist of the Year – a moment of deep personal and professional validation. At the heart of SaeRi’s work is a powerful reclamation of a traditional form – the Moon Jar. A celebrated icon of Korean ceramics from the Joseon Dynasty, the Moon Jar is known for its serene beauty and symbolic purity.
Yet it also carries a legacy of exclusion: during its origins, women were barred from studios and denied the right to participate in the craft, seen as bad luck in a male-dominated
system. For SaeRi, this cultural history is personal. Growing up under the shadow of such beliefs, and experiencing abuse linked to them, she began to confront her trauma through her practice.
By deliberately destroying her own ceramic vessels, often shaped in reference to Korean tradition she turned acts of fracture into moments of transformation. Each shattered piece became a way of speaking, healing, and asserting presence.
Through destruction, SaeRi finds creation. Through tradition, she finds the strength to challenge, reshape, and reclaim. Her work is not only a testament to artistic mastery, but to courage, sincerity, and the unyielding power of telling one’s story.
Artist of the Year International Artist Winner 2024: Anikó Boda
Hungarian contemporary artist Anikó Boda is no stranger to transformation. Born in Szeged in 1973, Anikó began her professional life not in a studio, but in a hospital working as an obstetrician and gynaecologist until the age of 30.
It wasn’t until after the birth of her daughters that she made a pivotal decision. With the support of her husband, she left medicine to pursue her lifelong passion for art. Now based in Gödöllő and Budapest, Boda is a celebrated figure in figurative and philosophical art, with a practice that bridges scientific observation and poetic introspection.
Her works have been exhibited internationally – in Barcelona’s prestigious Museu Europeu d’Art Modern (MEAM), as well as in New York, London, Prague, and at major art fairs including Volta Basel. Her accolades speak volumes. In 2021, she was named one of the world’s top 400 portrait painters by MEAM. In 2023, she was a finalist in the renowned Art Renewal Centre (ARC) Salon Competition in New York and featured in Fine Art Connoisseur magazine.
That same year, she received the VAA International Exhibition and Scholarship Prize, and in 2024, was awarded Best International Artist at the VAA Artist of the Year Awards.
“I’m a big believer in lifelong learning,” says Boda. “The Visual Artists Association is the perfect place for this – with its events, mentorship, and online resources. The awards have helped me exhibit in London, and the mentorship program that came with the prize has proved very useful in shaping my direction.”
Though trained in medicine, Boda has always approached the human condition from multiple dimensions. Much of her work focuses on the lived experience, suffering and joy, 
memory and mortality. “Often,” she explains, “I find myself creating a kind of visual medical dictionary.”
Her questions are big: How do you choose your fate? What is life going to be like in the posthuman era? How does one remember their childhood?
These existential themes become tangible in her work through a unique, intuitive process.
“Life is like a firework of ideas. I collect them all day, every day – even in my sleep. My process isn’t planned out. I collect visual and theoretical seeds in my memory, then match them: which idea or philosophical problem fits with which visual clue?”
For Boda, art is more than a form of expression – it’s a way of decoding the world, drawing from her scientific background while embracing the emotional aspects of life. Her evolving practice is a testament to the power of reinvention, and to the enduring relationship between knowledge, creativity, and the courage to start anew.
Looking Ahead
The VAA Artist of the Year Awards exist to shine a spotlight on not just the excellence in visual art, but the courage, vision, and humanity that lie at its core.
Through their deeply personal and profoundly resonant practices, Bea Last, SaeRi Seo, and Anikó Boda each demonstrate how art can act as a bridge – between cultures, between history and the present, and between individual experience and universal understanding.
These artists remind us that creative brilliance is not just about skill, but about the bravery to tell stories that matter. From Bea’s powerful exploration of belonging and material form, to SaeRi’s fearless confrontation of trauma through cultural reclamation, and Anikó’s philosophical investigations into what it means to be human. Each body of work is a living testament to the transformative force of art.
As the VAA Artist of the Year Awards continue to evolve, they remain rooted in a commitment to celebrating not just artistic talent, but authenticity, experimentation, and impact.
These winners are more than creators; they are change-makers, mentors, and voices of their time. And their stories are just the beginning. Whether you’re an artist seeking inspiration, a curator scouting for new perspectives, or simply someone who believes in the power of creativity, we hope this reflection leaves you energised by what’s possible and excited to see who will shape the next chapter.
Apply now for your chance to win the VAA Artist of the Year Awards 2025!