Applications were judged by regional panels, the chairs of which went on to choose the seven winning recipients.
Africa
Chair: Jill Trappler (South Africa)
Painter and teacher, Trustee and Committee Member of Greatmore Studios, Cape Town, and Co-ordinator of the Thupelo Workshops, Cape Town
Bright Eke (Nigeria)
Installation artist and winner of a Commonwealth Arts and Crafts Award in 2007
Danda Jaroljmek (Kenya)
Artist and Director of Kuona Trust, a non-profit visual arts organization
Asia
Chair: Shalini Ganendra (Malaysia)
Director of the Shalini Ganendra fine art gallery in Kuala Lumpur
Quddus Mirza (Pakistan)
Artist, art teacher, critic and independent curator based in Lahore, Pakistan
Dimple Shah (India)
Multidisciplinary fine artist specializing in painting, printmaking and performance art and Commonwealth Arts and Crafts winner in 2005
Caribbean
Chair: Christopher Cozier (Trinidad and Tobago)
Multi-media artist and writer
Annalee Davis (Barbados)
Multi-media artist
Oneika Russell (Jamaica)
Painter and installation/new media artist and lecturer and 2007 Commonwealth Arts and Crafts winner
Canada and Europe
Chair: John Phillips (United Kingdom)
Artist and writer, director and co-founder of the London Print Studio
Carla Garnett (Canada)
Independent curator and critic based in Ontario, Canada
Nicoleta Kalatha (Cyprus)
Video artist and 2007 Commonwealth Arts and Crafts Award winner
Pacific
Chair: Susan Cochrane (Australia)
Independent curator and consultant of contemporary art from the Pacific region, writer and editor
Daniel Waswas (Papua New Guinea)