Meet the JUDGES
FAUZIYA JOHNSON
Fauziya Johnson is a Somali-Dominican queer curator, artist and producer based in Manchester. Fauziya creates with a focus on current social and political issues through community-centred workshops, art projects, and exhibitions.
Her work creates thought-provoking, engaging and trusted spaces for the public to engage in, making collective care, navigating and deconstructing harmful systems, and activism the core of the work for marginalised groups - in particular Queer, Black and disabled communities. Her every day role is as a Community Engagement Advisor. She has a degree in Fine and Applied art.
Fauziya’s pronouns are she/her.
Mike Nelson AKA BANNERS, is an indie singer-songwriter hailing from Liverpool.
Starting his musical journey as a member of the Liverpool Cathedral Choir and spending time in the studio with his dad as a child, Mike found his adoration for singing and making music.
He broke through onto the scene back in 2015, with his second single ‘Shine a Light’, and a few years later released his well-known song ‘Someone to You’ which achieved huge success in 2020.
Mike has had much success as a singer-songwriter, influenced by the likes of Jeff Buckley, Chris Martin and Guy Garvey, yet his music and lyrics are so uniquely his own: exciting inspiring and moving.
His latest single ‘Raise Your Colours’ is out now.
MIKE NELSON
Victoria Smith is a photographic artist based in Hull UK with a background in music photography.
Victoria is committed to supporting local photographers and musicians by curating community focused exhibitions such as A CITY OF MUSIC. Her exhibitions have supported photographers in Hull in exhibiting their work usually for the first time. whilst raising money for music charities.
In 2025 Victoria raised over £2k for charities through DIY exhibition programming and was awarded a Community Cohesion Award for her dedication.