The Wonder Awards
For Catholic artists aged twenty-nine and under. Inaugural ceremony 2028.
Eight arts, one call
In ¶14 John Paul II addresses "artists of the written and spoken word, of the theatre and music, of the plastic arts and the most recent technologies in the field of communication." Our eight categories follow that appeal.
“Every genuine art form in its own way is a path to the inmost reality of man and of the world.” ¶6
Letter group (¶14): artists of the written and spoken word
“an ethic, even a “spirituality” of artistic service” ¶4
Letter group (¶14): artists of the theatre
“art remains a kind of bridge to religious experience” ¶10
Letter group (¶14): artists of music
“Our only art is faith and our music Christ” ¶7
Letter group (¶14): artists of music
“ingenious creators of beauty” ¶1
Letter group (¶14): artists of the plastic arts
“churches which are both places of prayer and true works of art” ¶12
Letter group (¶14): artists of the plastic arts
“a renewed “epiphany” of beauty in our time” ¶10
Letter group (¶14): artists of the most recent technologies in the field of communication
“Beauty is a key to the mystery and a call to transcendence.” ¶16
Letter group (¶14): artists of the theatre and music
Twenty-nine and under
Artists must be twenty-nine years old or younger on the date of submission. The number is deliberate: the inaugural ceremony in 2028 falls twenty-nine years after the 1999 Letter to Artists.
- Any nationality, any stage: students, apprentices, the self-taught.
- Work completed within the three years before submission.
- Faith-inspired work; artists need not work exclusively on sacred subjects.
- No prior major prizes required, or expected.
What the juries weigh
Promise
Not a finished career, but a gift visibly unfolding: the sense that this is only the beginning.
Originality
A voice of one's own, even if still unpolished; freshness over imitation.
Faith-inspired vision
A work that opens onto the transcendent, whether explicitly sacred or not.
Craft for their stage
Skill judged against the artist's age and means, not against a master's.
Wonder
The capacity to stir the viewer, reader or listener to wonder.
How laureates are chosen
- Artists submit directly, or are nominated by a teacher, pastor, mentor or school.
- Each category jury of five (established practitioners, a scholar and a cleric) reviews every eligible work in full.
- Three finalists per category are announced in February.
- The Academic Council confirms the slate; the Board of Trustees ratifies laureates.
- Laureates are announced on stage at the ceremony.
Every finalist is paired with a mentor, whether or not they win.
The first award year
- September 1, 2027: Submissions open
- November 30, 2027: Submissions close
- December 2027 to January 2028: Jury deliberation
- February 2028: Finalists announced
- April 22, 2028: Inaugural ceremony