Help choose the next label artist

The selected artist receives

• The purchase of their winning artwork by Ozymandias Wines.
• Financial support intended to help fund their second year of tuition.
• Their artwork featured as the official label of an upcoming Ozymandias Wines release.
• Showcase opportunities through Ozymandias Wines events and exhibitions.

The finalists

Each cycle begins with a curated group of roughly two to four finalists, chosen from participating first-year students at the New York Academy of Art on artistic merit, originality and distinctive style, emotional resonance, technical execution, and alignment with the mission and visual identity of Ozymandias Wines. Once the finalists are set, the delegate voting begins.

How voting works

The outcome is decided by five voting delegates, each representing a different voice in the Ozymandias Wines ecosystem. The first artist to secure at least three of the five delegate votes is selected. If no artist reaches three votes in the first round, the two artists with the highest totals advance to a final runoff, and the artist with the majority in that round wins.

The five delegates

1. Founder Delegate.Rafe D'Amico, Founder of Ozymandias Wines. The founder delegate reflects the original artistic and philanthropic vision behind Ozymandias Wines: supporting emerging artists while building lasting connections between wine, culture, and creative expression.
2. Alumni Artist Delegate. Composed of previous Ozymandias Wines label artists. Whichever artist receives the most votes from the alumni artists wins the delegate, ensuring that artists who have been through the program have a voice in shaping its future. A tie is broken by Rafe D'Amico.
3. Selection Committee Delegate. The Selection Committee is composed of artists, collectors, patrons, curators, creatives, and advisors connected to the Ozymandias Wines mission. The committee evaluates submissions on artistic originality, emotional impact, technical execution, and alignment with the spirit of Ozymandias Wines, and the artist with the most committee votes wins the delegate, with ties broken by Rafe D'Amico. Current members: Rafe D'Amico, Maria Quas, Anthony D'Amico, Judith LaFountaine, Winston Alford-Hamburg, Robert Goodwin, Janice Drake, Joseph Harmer, Clara Bergnier, Travis Rosenbluth, Peter Drake, Sean D'Amico, Chapman Hussein, Cynthia Dragoni, Bonnie Manter, Drew Conner, Ross Fridy, and Bryan Abrams.
4. New York Academy of Art Delegate. The New York Academy of Art has an institutional delegate in the process, currently delivered by Peter Drake, Provost of the New York Academy of Art. This delegate keeps the process connected to the Academy's tradition of artistic rigor and emerging talent development.
5. Community Delegate.Comes directly from the public through community voting. One human vote per person (any bot or AI votes are discarded), and artists are encouraged to rally friends, family, and supporters. To vote: follow @ozymandiaswines on Instagram, visit this voting page, and submit your name, Instagram handle, email address, and artist selection. The finalist with the most votes during the voting window wins the delegate, with ties broken by Rafe D'Amico. This is how collectors, supporters, wine enthusiasts, and art lovers take a direct part in the selection.

Selection philosophy

Ozymandias Wines was created on the belief that art should not exist behind closed doors and no one person determines what is considered “good art.” The selection process reflects that philosophy by combining: Institutional perspective; Peer recognition; Curatorial evaluation; Public participation. No single voice determines the outcome. Instead, the chosen artist emerges through consensus across the artistic community surrounding Ozymandias Wines.

Beyond the bottle

The selected artwork becomes more than a wine label. It becomes a collectible piece of visual storytelling, a funding mechanism for emerging artists, a collaboration between art and wine culture, and a permanent part of the evolving Ozymandias Wines archive. Every bottle directly contributes to the mission of supporting the next generation of artists.