Isle of Man Students Prize 2025

Adrienne Burnett is the former Head of Ballakermeen High School. She has a strong background in the arts, having trained in drama and education. She taught drama in a range of schools, as well as regularly contributing to trainee teacher undergraduate courses.

A former member of the North West Arts Council and the Education Panel of the Duke’s Theatre, Lancaster, Adrienne’s responsibilities in England included developing community arts and children’s theatre in education programmes. She continued to promote theatre for young people when she moved to the Isle of Man, helping to create and promote the Studio Theatre at Ballakermeen as a community venue, including introducing live streaming of arts events to the island. She also served for two terms on the Isle of Man Arts Council.

Carola Rush has enjoyed a lifelong career involved with the visual arts, working within the fields of: professional photography; art and media education (in both the formal education sector and less formal gallery arenas); exhibition curation, organisation and design; support and promotion of artists, and art venue management. She has had a passion for visual art from an early age and loves to see a similar passion emerging in young people today. Carola has been involved with the Sovereign Art Prize since its first year on the Isle of Man and feels privileged to have seen some of the best artworks produced by young people during that time. Although now semi-retired, Carola remains voluntarily active within the arts on the Isle of Man through the Creative Network, a collective of nearly 70 artists living and working on the Island. Through the Network, Carola jointly organises the IOM Art Festival and other arts initiatives, most recently she has been involved in the organisation of the developing Silverburn Art Trail, a public amenity running from Castletown to Silverdale Glen.

Jade Boylan is a Manx artist and designer. She currently works full time as the Arts Engagement Officer for the Isle of Man Arts Council as well as running her online brand the Candy Doll Club where she sells products featuring her designs to customers all over the world. While much of her contemporary work is predominantly digital, her preferred mediums are acrylic and spray paint, painting large scale pieces and murals reminiscent of Pop Art or Superflat art. Her work often embodies themes of nostalgia and feminism, incorporating characters from 80s and 90s pop culture along with a strong ‘girl power’ and ‘girl gang’ aesthetic evident in most of her pieces. Find out more about Jade at https://www.candydollclub.com/ and the Arts Council at https://www.iomarts.com/