Graduates from Anglia Ruskin University's BA (Hons) Photography course - plus current third-year students - are vying to win Wysing Art Centre's inaugural Topham Award.

The winner will receive a year's funded studio space at Wysing Arts Centre, near Bourn in Cambridgeshire, worth more than £2,000. The prize also includes a solo exhibition towards the end of the residency, in conjunction with Anglia Ruskin University.

The award is funded by local landowner William Topham, whose son Matthew is a photographer, and the winner will be announced at a reception at William Topham's Cambridge home on 20 May 2011.

The Topham Award is the first of its kind for Wysing Arts Centre, which is an organisation with a growing national and international reputation for supporting artists.

The winner will be selected by a panel consisting of William and Matthew Topham; Donna Lynas, the Director of Wysing Arts Centre; and Kerstin Hacker, the Pathway Leader for Anglia Ruskin's BA (Hons) Photography degree.