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The Financial Times and OppenheimerFunds announced winners of their inaugural Emerging Voices Awards on Monday in New York. The gala event marked a high point in the months-long competition among more than 800 artists from 65 emerging-market countries.

Chigozie Obioma, a 29-year-old Nigerian who is an Assistant Professor of literature and creative writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, got the award for fiction, while Cristina Planas of Peru received the award for art. The award in the film category was presented to Yuhang Ho of Malaysia. Ho won the Emerging Voices film award for “Trespassed;” Chigozie Obioma won the Emerging Voices fiction award for “The Fishermen;” and Cristina Planas won the Emerging Voices art award for “Vultures,” “Table of Negotiations,” “Mass Grave,” and “Coloured Christ.” Each of the winners received a $40,000 award along with the global recognition.

Michael Skapinker, associate editor of the Financial Times and chair of the judges said, “The winners impressed our panels of judges with their creativity and how they represent a voice of their respective regions. Sharing their outstanding talent with a global audience has been both a true pleasure and great honour for our judges and for the Financial Times.”
 
The independent panels of judges made their determinations based on outstanding talents that exemplifies their art form and serve as a voice from their region. To ensure that each major region would have its own area of focus, the competition was open to artists from emerging-market nations in the following regions and categories: fiction from Africa and the Middle East; film from the Asia-Pacific region; and painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed media from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Art Steinmetz, Chairman, CEO and President of OppenheimerFunds said, “As one of the world’s largest managers of global assets, we take great pride in identifying opportunities around the world for investors. We are also excited to work with the Financial Times to offer the Emerging Voices Awards as a platform to enhance the global recognition of talented artists from the emerging markets.”
 
OppenheimerFunds and its subsidiaries, which manage more than $219 billion in assets for over 13 million shareholder accounts, offer a broad array of products and services to clients, who range from endowments and sovereigns to financial advisors serving individual investors.

“With so much focus in financial markets on the emerging world, there couldn’t be a better time for this vivid reminder of the tremendous accomplishments and limitless potential of developing nations,” said Justin Leverenz, Director of Emerging Market Equities at OppenheimerFunds and a member of the fiction and art panels of judges. “The recipients of our inaugural awards embody the immense contribution of emerging markets to our global conversation about art, commerce and the continued advance of human progress.”