Ahead of the NHS’ 75th anniversary on 5th July, a new exhibition from Rankin and NHS Charities Together celebrates the vital role charities have played throughout health service history, and how their contribution has helped make the NHS what it is today.
The series features new portraits, photographed by Rankin, of NHS staff, patients, volunteers and high-profile supporters from across the UK – each with a powerful personal story of how NHS charities have influenced their life.
Call for entries open: Thursday 29 June 2023 (10.00am)
Deadline for entries: Sunday 3 September 2023 (11:59pm)
Ten finalists notified: Monday 18 September 2023
Prize-giving: Thursday 9 November 2023
Virtual exhibition dates: Friday 10 November – Sunday 10 December 2023
Public vote winner announced: Tuesday 12 December
This year’s theme:
For 2023, the award is interested in works which address the theme, ‘The Journey of Self-Actualization: Exploring the Illusion of Greener Grass and the Pursuit of the Dream’
The Awards
This year, Robert Walters are proud to offer three prizes, for which each of our ten shortlisted artists will be eligible.
First Prize: £10,000 cash prize; the first-prize award winner’s work will also be shown at the Robert Walters Group head office in London for a period of twelve months after the award is given.
Second Prize: £5,000 cash prize
People’s Choice Award: The winner of the People’s Choice Award will be decided by a public vote during the virtual exhibition, open from 10 November – 10 December and will be announced Tuesday 12 December.
The winner will have the opportunity to take part in one of UK New Artists’ international presentations.
Information
The Robert Walters Group and UK New Artists, in collaboration with Saatchi Gallery, is proud to present the Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award, Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award. The award helps to discover and champion the work of exceptional young artists whose work and vision represent contemporary Britain.
From an open call across the UK, we provide a platform for ten finalists whose work demonstrates a strong and original voice, and is of exceptional artistic quality. In the process, we look for artists who represent the UK’s richly diverse population and embody the experiences of their respective communities — artists who create bold, unique pieces of art that reveal their own perspectives and experiences, and who represent original viewpoints that will start new conversations across the UK art scene.
Further details on the 2023 awards such as theme, selection criteria, eligibility criteria and financial support for shortlisted artists can be found in the application page.
2022 Winner
Habib Hajallie, was named as the 2022 winner of the Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award. Habib – based in the South East – wowed the judges with his intricately detailed figures realised on the pages of antique Sierra Leonean texts for his winning piece.
Habib’s practice is informed by his Sierra Leonean and Lebanese heritage, in the representation of figures that have been left-out of traditional British Portraiture he works to investigate how identity can be reconstructed by historical oppression.
His canvases of antique texts and maps recontextualise these figures to confront the enduring ethnocentrisms still embedded within modern western society. Through his use of medium – a modern ballpoint pen depicting the empowered subjects, whose likeness is inspired by himself and his family, Habib constructs links in ink between past, present and future.
Habib Hajallie commented:
“I was genuinely happy to just be selected to exhibit at Saatchi Gallery with nine other ambitious and talented emerging artists – being shortlisted felt like a triumph. I’ve been a full-time artist for the past three-and-a-half years; winning the award is profoundly humbling and will serve to further galvanise my ambitions.
“As a young artist from an ethnically diverse background, being recognised for an art prize that is intended to showcase the work of new British art being made today, is something that I hope will resonate with people from similar backgrounds as myself. For too long the work of Black British artists went unseen or underappreciated, I have to thank the generations of immensely driven and talented Black British artists that paved the way to allow people such as myself opportunities for greater visibility to challenge archaic and oppressive notions of what it means to British.
“I can’t think of any organisations that champion emerging artists, in the way that UKNA does. They consistently provide an array of opportunities to catalyse the careers of up-and-coming artists.”
“This award in particular is truly special. Having the opportunity to exhibit at the world renowned Saatchi Gallery is a dream come true for any artist, at any stage of their career; also having the chance to win a £10k prize offers a unique opportunity to both gain practical exposure and crucial financial support. I can only thank Robert Walters, Saatchi Gallery and UKNA for their work in tandem to provide such an important showcase for emerging artists.”
Robert Walters Group is a global recruitment group committed to powering people and organisations to fulfil their unique potential. With vast experience in helping professionals grow their careers, Robert Walters Group is now aiming to help emerging UK artists express their unique voices and launch their artistic careers.
For more information, visit www.robertwaltersgroup.com
UK New Artists (UKNA) is a registered national charity that champions the next generation of creativity, supporting collaboration and intercultural dialogue, ensuring a vibrant and diverse creative future for the UK. We develop artists’ practice through cross-art form opportunities and celebrate creativity at national & international festivals
Learn more at www.uknewartists.co.uk
They say “History is Written by Victors” when it comes to the Black experience and the racism that often impacts it. The negative ramifications of this quote in relation to Colonialism and the Transatlantic slave trade have corrupted the full truth of Black history pre and post this deplorable era.
Filling in the Pieces in Black aims to help redress this imbalance by bringing together a collection of some of the most talented artists of today. Through the power of their visual storytelling the exhibition seeks to Redefine the past, Refocus the present and Reshape the future, featuring works by: Larry Amponsah, Ofunne Azinge, Radcliffe Bailey, Kwame Akoto Bamfo, Kwesi Botchway, Wonder Buhle, Godfried Donkor, Modupeola Fadugba, Nicola Green, Lyle Ashton Harris. Yinka llori, Nate Lewis, Alexis McGrigg, Mario Moore, Zak Ové, Patrick Quarm, Sheena Rose, Samuel de Saboia, Mickalene Thomas, Hank Willis Thomas, Khari Turner, and Uthman Wahaab among others.
“Filling In The Pieces In Black has been a real labour of love. As a woman whose heritage hails from the African Diaspora, I feel there is so much about the rich tapestry that makes up the Black experience that has been either omitted, distorted or invalidated. My aim as curator of this show is to help present a more balanced representation of the many strands of the fabric of the indelible soul of Black people. As a medium, visual art has the power to change the way humans see themselves and each other. This show brings together an incredible collective of contemporary artists who are using their creativity to help shape a more rounded narrative of Black culture.” – June Sarpong OBE, television broadcaster, author, and diversity advocate
Full artist list:
Cornelius Annor, Reginald Armstrong, Larry Amponsah, Ofunne Azinge Radcliffe Bailey, Kwame Akoto Bamfo, Kwesi Botchway, Wonder Buhle, Samuel Desaboia, Godfried Donkor, Esiri Erheriene-Essi, Johnson Eziefula, Modupeola Fadugba, Nicola Green, Marcel Gyan, Lyle Ashton Harris, Yinka Ilori, Hassan Issah, Sthenjwa Luthuli, Alexis McGrigg, Mario Moore, Kaloki Nyamai, Joshua Oheneba-Takyi, Zak Ové, Patrick Quarm, Sheena Rose, Samuel de Saboia, Khadija Saye, Mickalene Thomas, Hank Willlis Thomas, Uthman Wahaab, Khari Turner, Lulama Wolf, and Kwaku Yaro
R.I.O.T. is a perfect example of the alchemical process of transmutation. Sixteen riot helmets began their journey on the front lines of public disorder operations for law enforcement in the United Kingdom. It was important for the art project that the riot helmets were ex-issue, so they still retained the sweat, raw emotion and memory of the moments experienced by the wearer. As riot helmets they served two functions on the streets, firstly they helped protect police heads and, secondly, they helped produce an element of fear once deployed.
The curator’s objective was the reclamation of these riot helmets with the intention of bringing balance to these unloved objects by reversing the negative energy pent-up within each unit through the medium of art. What were once objects designed to elicit fear now trigger entirely different emotional responses. Sixteen international artists were specifically invited for their personal skill sets, from fine artists to street art graffiti artists; and tasked with transforming riot helmets into Peace Helmets. Created up to ten years ago, this is the first time they have ever been displayed.
Curated and produced by Wayne Anthony. Supported by STIK
Featured Artists
Stik (UK ), Carrie Reichardt (UK), Ghalamdar (Iran), Busk (UK), Dr Zadok (UK), JF-Ink (France), Gnasher (UK), Wild Drawing (Indonesia), NME (UK), Dmark (Germany), Si2 (UK), Xenz ( UK), Kay One (France), Otto Schade (Chile), Charlie McFarley (UK), My Dog Sighs (UK) and Wayne Anthony (Photography)
As part of our charitable mission, we endeavour to ensure school, university and community groups receive the best possible support. Saatchi Gallery proudly offers free entry to these groups with the support of our Gallery sponsors.
Over the past 12 months we have worked with over 20,000 participants through both onsite and offsite sessions.
Wanting To Be showcases the work created by our community groups in response to previous exhibitions Civilization, Beyond the Streets and New Black Vanguard. Many of our participants face various barriers and these works are a chance for them to share their stories and experiences through various forms and mediums.
As part of our charitable mission, we endeavour to ensure school, university and community groups receive the best possible support. Saatchi Gallery proudly offers free entry to these groups with the support of our Gallery sponsors.
Over the past 12 months we have worked with over 20,000 participants through both onsite and offsite sessions.
Wanting To Be showcases the work created by our community groups in response to previous exhibitions Civilization, Beyond the Streets and New Black Vanguard. Many of our participants face various barriers and these works are a chance for them to share their stories and experiences through various forms and mediums.
Since its founding in 2014, StART art fair has helped to springboard the careers of both emerging and established artists and galleries from around the globe. In celebration of the King’s Coronation, together with the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts (PFSTA), 50 former MA students who graduated during the past decade will also be exhibited.
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