A young man from Royton who abandoned his A levels to start an art business has been shortlisted for a prestigious award in recognition of his artistic talents.

Ben Power, who missed out on the opportunity to study at A level during the pandemic decided to "redirect" his energy to launch an art business and website in lockdown.

Since then, the 21-year-old has been following a successful path at Nottingham Trent University, where he studies graphic design, while balancing his work and business.

Ben has been working hard to get his name out there as an emerging artist and to that end, entered the Aesthetica Art Competition 2023.

The Aesthetica Art Prize recognises and celebrates contemporary art in all its forms, including painting and drawing, video, sculpture, installation, performance, photography, illustration and more, and offers £10,000 in prize money as well as the opportunity to exhibit at a major public gallery.

Alumni of the prize have gone on to stage exhibitions at Tate Modern, The Photographers' Gallery, Foam Amsterdam, Barbican, Saatchi Gallery and more.

While Ben narrowly missed out on the award, his acrylic piece on canvas was chosen as one of 125 creations by artists to be featured by Aesthetica - and he was the youngest selected from thousands of entries across the globe.

In an exhibition at York Museum Art Gallery, Ben's piece is currently displayed on a rolling screen of long listers and appears on a wall among other credited artists.

Ben said: “It has boosted my confidence to know that my work stands up in the community of worldwide contemporary artists.

"Having it displayed in the York Museum Art Gallery feels like a great first step towards more opportunities to get my artwork out there and hopefully start to make some sales”.

Meanwhile, the Future Now anthology features a double-page spread of his entry alongside those of other contemporary artists deemed to fit the criteria for this year's prize.

The exhibition is currently being held until June 3 while Ben's work and prints can be purchased from his website, www.visualmob.co.uk