BRAVO'S COLORFUL COMPETITION SERIES "WORK OF ART: THE NEXT GREAT ARTIST" RETURNS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12 AT 9 PM ET/PT

NEW YORK - August 25, 2011 - Bravo's creative competition, "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist," returns Wednesday, October 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. This imaginative series is a creative synergy between the Emmy-winning producers Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz from the Magical Elves ("Top Chef," "Top Chef Masters"), Sarah Jessica Parker and Alison Benson from Pretty Matches and producer Eli Holzman. Assembled in New York City under the watchful eye of art world elites, fourteen up-and-coming artists are ready to make their mark on the industry and battle it out for a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum and a cash prize of $100,000. For more information, visit www.BravoTV.com and follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BravoPR.

China Chow, host and judge, lends her artistic grace to the second season of Bravo's cutting-edge competition that brings fine art dialogue to the forefront of pop culture. Returning to the judging panel is Bill Powers, a New York Gallery owner and literary art contributor, as well as Jerry Saltz, senior art critic for New York Magazine. World-renowned art auctioneer Simon de Pury adds his voice of expertise as a mentor to the contestants.

This season the competition has grown fierce, with artists who graduated top of their class at Yale, studied under Marilyn Minter, and even had their work sold by Phillips de Pury Auction & Company. The challenges range from inventive street art to the use of Parkour, a discipline where participants overcome obstacles using only their bodies to move from point A to point B in the most creative way possible, as inspiration. Each week, the contestants are tasked to create an original artwork in the medium of their choice, including - but not limited to, painting, sculpture, photography, collage, industrial design and performance art.

Joining the expert panel each week are professional artists and tastemakers known for challenging the mold in the constantly evolving art world. Guest judges include Adam McEwen, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, KAWS and Mary Ellen Mark. For a sneak peek of "Work of Art: The Next Great Artist" go to: http://www.bravotv.com/work-of-art/season-2/videos/work-of-art-season-2-sneak-peek

Following are the 14 Artists competing on the series:

. Bayete - 34, Hometown: New York, NY
. Michelle - 29, Hometown: Bridgewater, NJ
. Dusty - 32, Hometown: Mountain View, AR
. Jazz-Minh - 33, Hometown: New York, NY
. Kathryn - 29, Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
. Kymia -30, Hometown: New York, NY
. Leon - 31, Hometown: Kedah, Malaysia
. Lola - 24, Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
. Sara - 26, Hometown: New York, NY
. Sarah - 34, Hometown: Cleveland, OH
. Sucklord - 41, Hometown: New York, NY
. Tewz - 30, Hometown: Chicago, IL
. Ugo - 33, Hometown: Paris, France
. Young Sun - 28, Hometown: Morton Grove, IL

"Work of Art: The Next Great Artist," is produced by Pretty Matches and Magical Elves for Bravo. Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alison Benson and Eli Holzman serve as executive producers.

Bravo is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBCUniversal cable network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. For more information visit www.bravotv.com. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BravoPR.