The One Club Opens Young Guns 20 COLORFUL Grant Program For BIPOC Creatives

Mar. 22, 2022

The One Club for Creativity announced the launch of COLORFUL: A Prelude to Young Guns 20, and tripled the size of the grant program to $9,000 to help young BIPOC creatives around the world advance their careers.

There is no fee to apply, and the grant is open globally to BIPOC creatives who qualify for the club's prestigious Young Guns competition: age 30 years and under with at least two years of professional creative experience, and never having won Young Guns in the past.

Candidates must submit links to six projects in their portfolio, as well as a short essay and a 60-second video (phone or webcam acceptable) to introduce themselves and describe their dream project.  

Deadline for free application for a COLORFUL grant is April 15, 2022.  

A BIPOC jury of past Young Guns winners will review submissions and select one gifted entrant to receive the first-place grant of $3,000 towards a professional dream project of their choosing.  Runner up will receive a $2,000 grant, and two third-place winners will each receive $1,000.

In addition, all COLORFUL finalists receive free entry into Young Guns 20, as will the first 10 qualifying candidates to enter when the competition opens on May 18, 2022.

Last year's inaugural program had an immediate impact on Young Guns: 2021 COLORFUL winner Sean Wang, a New York-based filmmaker, went on to become a YG19 winner, as did finalist Dani Choi, an illustrator also in New York.

Funding for this year's COLORFUL is provided by Russell's Reserve Bourbon and Rich Tu, group creative director at Jones Knowles Ritchie New York who conceived of the grant program last year.  

Tu, a YG8 winner who also hosts the "First Generation Burden" podcast, said:

"I always feel we can do more to change this industry for the better, challenge pre-existing norms, and provide inclusive spaces for BIPOC representation. I wanted to put my money where my mouth is and build upon the great work we did last year. That’s why we do this, to send a signal to the industry that we’re here too and that we won’t go away."

 

Russell's Reserve is a bourbon that focuses on inviting everyone to become a part of the family.  Rich Tu is a part of Russell's Reserve's Bourbon Board, which was created to uplift influential community members who are helping to create more equitable spaces and making sure everyone has a seat at the table. 

Vibrant branding for this year's COLORFUL program was created by Lebassis, the talented art director and lettering artist based in Rio de Janeiro and YG18 winner.

COLORFUL: A Prelude to Young Guns 20 is the latest example of The One Club’s ongoing global nonprofit commitment to pushing diversity and inclusion forward in advertising and design.  Other initiatives include the annual Where Are All The Black People diversity conference and career fair; global Creative Boot Camps and mentorship programs for diverse college students and other young creatives; ONE School, the groundbreaking free portfolio program for Black creatives; and ONE Production, a free training program for BIPOC students looking to enter the world of food styling.

Last year, The One Club also introduced The One Show Fusion Pencil and ADC Annual Awards Fusion Cube, the advertising and design industry's first global awards to recognize great work that best incorporates diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles, and underrepresented groups in both creative content and the team that made it.

Unlike for-profit awards shows, The One Club is a non-profit organization that puts revenue generated from awards entries back into the industry in the form of programs under its four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality and Professional Development.