Photoworks & Jerwood Arts announce major commissioning and exhibiting opportunity for early-career artists
The Jerwood/Photoworks Awards are a major commissioning opportunity supporting early-career artists working with photography to make new work and significantly develop their practice. Two artists will receive a £15,000 award each with a full package of support from Photoworks and Jerwood Arts to create new work over a 12-month period.
Today at 2pm GMT (18 March 2021) applications open and will close on 12 May 2021 at 10am BST.
Now in their fourth edition, the Awards are for UK-based artists who have been practising for between one and ten years. Two artists will be chosen by a selection panel including Christine Eyene (Art historian, critic and curator), Sunil Gupta (Photographer), Joy Gregory (Artist), Julia Bunnemann (Curator, Photoworks) and Harriet Cooper (Head of Visual Arts, Jerwood Arts).
There is no age limit or fee to apply and both organisations particularly seek to encourage artists exploring new approaches to photography.
The Awards include:
- £10,000 artists fee
- £5,000 production budget
- Mentoring support from a high-profile international pool of experts for at least 12-months.
- Curatorial support from Photoworks and Jerwood Arts (including with Shoair Mavlian and Julia Bunnemann, Photoworks and Harriet Cooper, Jerwood Arts)
- A two-person exhibition in London as part of the Jerwood Arts programme at Jerwood Space (opening October 2022)
- A UK touring exhibition in 2023. Previous Jerwood/Photoworks Awards tour partners include Belfast Exposed, Belfast and StreetLevel Photoworks, Glasgow.
- A £5,000 printing budget from print partner Spectrum Photographic for the London and UK touring exhibitions.
Previous recipients of the Awards have included Silvia Rosi, Theo Simpson, Alejandra Carles-Tolra, Sam Laughlin, Lua Ribeira, Matthew Finn, Joanna Piotrowska and Tereza Zelenkova.
Silvia Rosi, recipient of the third edition of the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards said, “Experimentation has been a great part of my process with the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards. With the Awards I was given the opportunity to experiment, make mistakes and learn about my practice in the making, with great support and mentoring”
The Awards are a collaboration between Jerwood Arts and Photoworks and are supported by Spectrum Photographic.
Applications can be made through the Jerwood Arts application portal and full application guidance will be available on this page, including Easy Read, audio and Welsh-language guidance and accessible ways of applying.
Shoair Mavlian, Director, Photoworks, said, “We are very pleased to once again offer this unique opportunity for early-career photographers to make new work and test ideas in a supportive environment. Photographers who have received the Award in the past have benefitted from both the financial support and from working with open and generous mentors from across the photography sector to help develop their practice. We are pleased to partner with Jerwood Arts to offer this exciting opportunity for the fourth time and I look forward to seeing the work of those who apply from across the UK.”
Lilli Geissendorfer, Director, Jerwood Arts, said, “The Awards give early-career artists an opportunity to respond to the world around us through one of the most innovative and relevant mediums: photography. We are looking forward to being challenged and surprised by how artists are experimenting with this art form and exploring what photography can be today. We have developed our guidance materials to be more accessible and to help artists decide if it’s the right moment for them to apply, and are particularly excited to welcome proposals from those who may not have considered applying before.”
Hazel Watts, Director, Spectrum Photographic said, “We are thrilled to once again be the print sponsor for the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards. It is such a pleasure collaborating with the team and selected photographers. There is always a sense of excitement in the studio when we get to see the commissioned projects the photographers have been working on. All of us at Spectrum very much look forward to the next edition of the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards.”
The application portal will be open from 2pm today (Thursday 18 March) and will close at 10am GMT on Wednesday 12 May.
For press information please contact Nicola Jeffs nicola@photoworks.org.uk / 07794 694 754 or Shoair Mavlian shoair@photoworks.org.uk
Images can be downloaded here.
About the Awards
Founded in 2015, the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards are a collaboration between Jerwood Arts and Photoworks. They are presented every two years in London and tour nationally. Each Awardee receives a £10,000 artists fee to support the creation of new work, access to a production budget of up to £5,000 and year-long mentoring and curatorial support. Previous recipients of the Awards have included Silvia Rosi, Theo Simpson, Alejandra Carles-Tolra, Sam Laughlin, Lua Ribeira, Matthew Finn, Joanna Piotrowska and Tereza Zelenkova.
Jerwood Arts
Jerwood Arts is the leading independent funder dedicated to supporting UK artists, curators and producers to develop and thrive. We enable transformative opportunities for individuals across art forms, supporting imaginative awards, bursaries, fellowships, projects, programmes and commissions. We present new work and bring people from across the arts together through our exhibitions and events at Jerwood Space in London, as well as across the UK. www.jerwoodarts.org @jerwoodarts
Photoworks
Photoworks champions photography for everyone. We are an international platform, global in reach, and have provided opportunities for artists and audiences since 1995. We do not have a physical venue, but our online channels are always open. Our programme brings new experiences to audiences and opens up new ways to encounter photography.
Photoworks is a registered charity and the only organisation with a national remit for photography in England. Our work is supported by public funding through Arts Council England’s National Portfolio. Photoworks is led by Shoair Mavlian, Director. Photoworks.org.uk @photoworks_uk
