## Breadcrumb 1. [Home](/index%2Ephp/) 2. [News and Stories](/index%2Ephp/news) 3. [Announcing the recipients of the 2025 Format Website Prize for Graduating Students Career Launchers!](/index%2Ephp/markdownify/node/3247) March 31, 2025 # Announcing the recipients of the 2025 Format Website Prize for Graduating Students Career Launchers! ![Format logo.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_5_1_large/public/2025-03/Format-Logo-Black_Transparent_CMYKpng.png.webp?itok=t2LqExjA) rgb(255,255,255) ![Headshots of the 2025 Format Prize Career Launchers recipients and runner-ups.](/sites/default/files/2025-03/2025%20Format%20CL%20recipients.jpg) OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers is excited to announce **Nadia Da Silva** (Art) and **Maria San Martin Celi** (Design) as the recipients of 2025 Format Website Prize Career Launchers! We're also thrilled to announce **Vishwa Patel** as the runner-up for art and **Tara Haghighi** as the runner-up for design. Congratulations to all! #### **RECIPIENT \| ART:** [**Nadia Da Silva**](https://nadia-da-silva.format.com/) is a non-binary artist whose work reflects themes of longing and otherness. Their art explores the complexities of displacement, both in terms of identity and the concept of home, drawing from their experiences growing up in a Catholic immigrant household. #### **RECIPIENT \| DESIGN:** [**Maria San Martin Celi**](https://mariasanmartinceli.format.com/) is a dedicated graphic designer with a passion for motion graphics, print publication, illustration, and packaging design. Maria has had the opportunity to experiment with a variety of mediums from digital to analog and she is eager to continue exploring the limits of design mediums. Maria enjoys studying her passion for nature, culture, biology, and mental health via her work and continues to expand her practice through research. The excitement of storytelling inspires Maria to connect with others through her work and engage with the valuable role that design plays in our lives. #### **RUNNER-UP \| ART:** [**Vishwa Patel**](https://vishwafineart.format.com/) is an emerging interdisciplinary artist and curator based in Toronto, working primarily in embroidery, textiles, poster colour, and oil painting. Her current work is influenced by her heritage where she explores sacred geometry and fluid cultural identities — bridging Western and Eastern philosophies. Vishwa aims to create a dialogue between traditional techniques and contemporary issues, offering a fresh perspective on cultural identity and the world at large. #### **RUNNER-UP \| DESIGN:** [**Tara Haghighi**](https://tara-haghighi.format.com/) is an Iranian Illustrator and Designer based in Toronto, Ontario. She is known for embracing new challenges and stepping out of her comfort zone, both in her creative work and personal life. She is set to graduate from the Illustration program at OCAD University in 2025. --- Learn more about our Career Launchers at: [https://careerlaunchers.format.com](https://careerlaunchers.format.com/) ## Other Recent News [### 2026-27 Call for Funding Proposals for Student Groups that Support Creative Entrepreneurship on Campus The RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) invites OCAD University student groups with a mandate to support entrepreneurship on campus to apply for funding for student-led initiatives that strengthen and expand the creative entrepreneurship ecosystem at OCAD U. This funding is intended to help student groups create opportunities for entrepreneurship skills development, community building, and revenue-generating activities for students and recent alumni, while reducing barriers to participation for equity-seeking individuals. November 6, 2026 ](/news/2026-27-call-funding-proposals-student-groups-support-creative-entrepreneurship-campus) [### 2027 Critical Distance Centre for Curators Projections Program Call for Artists OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. Four (4) to five (5) selected emerging artists will receive $690 to exhibit work in a single channel, projection-based screening program that will be displayed at the CDCC in March 2027. October 30, 2026 ](/news/2027-critical-distance-centre-curators-projections-program-call-artists) [### Call for Vendors: BAM! Holiday Art Market 2026 OCAD University's RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) is excited to partner again with Wychwood Barns to offer a curated group of OCAD U students and recent alumni the opportunity to share a vendor table at the BAM! Holiday Art Market. October 26, 2026 ](/news/call-vendors-bam-holiday-art-market-2026) Related Stories ## Related Stories [### 2026-27 Call for Funding Proposals for Student Groups that Support Creative Entrepreneurship on Campus The RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) invites OCAD University student groups with a mandate to support entrepreneurship on campus to apply for funding for student-led initiatives that strengthen and expand the creative entrepreneurship ecosystem at OCAD U. This funding is intended to help student groups create opportunities for entrepreneurship skills development, community building, and revenue-generating activities for students and recent alumni, while reducing barriers to participation for equity-seeking individuals. November 6, 2026 ](/news/2026-27-call-funding-proposals-student-groups-support-creative-entrepreneurship-campus) [### 2027 Critical Distance Centre for Curators Projections Program Call for Artists OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. Four (4) to five (5) selected emerging artists will receive $690 to exhibit work in a single channel, projection-based screening program that will be displayed at the CDCC in March 2027. October 30, 2026 ](/news/2027-critical-distance-centre-curators-projections-program-call-artists) [### Call for Vendors: BAM! Holiday Art Market 2026 OCAD University's RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) is excited to partner again with Wychwood Barns to offer a curated group of OCAD U students and recent alumni the opportunity to share a vendor table at the BAM! Holiday Art Market. October 26, 2026 ](/news/call-vendors-bam-holiday-art-market-2026)