"A springboard for artists to take the next step in their career" - catching up with RW Award finalists

As the deadline for submissions for Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award 2022 draws near, UKNA chats to 2021 finalist Wesley George about his new bursary from 4C Hotel Group, as part of UKNA and 4C Hotel Group’s new partnership, and catches up with the winners and runners-up from the 2019 and 2021 Awards.

Self-taught artist Wesley George’s work focuses on portraiture, featuring young black individuals, mainly his friends and family, against bold single colour backgrounds. Wesley presents his subjects in a candid and uplifting manner, seeking to shed light on overlooked narratives of black subjects throughout history and society. “I want to place a clear emphasis on individuality, exploring the complexity of nuances of black identity in an engaging and relatable way. The unique ways people use clothing to express their individuality, their personal quirks, this is a really important part of my practice.”

In 2019 Wesley George made the life-changing decision to take a step away from his Law degree to pursue his passion for painting. “It was important for me to take that leap because it allowed me to realise and recognize that my passion was art.”

"Anthony" by Wesley George. Acrylic on canvas, 150 x 100 cm. Courtesy JD Malat Gallery

After a pop-up show in a Shoreditch pub in 2019, Wesley made it his goal to exhibit in a gallery space, and during the global pandemic, he took time to develop and reflect on his work and explore different avenues to exhibit his work. In summer 2020 Wesley was selected for the open exhibition Isolation Mastered at JD Malat Gallery which was the start of an ongoing relationship between artist and gallery, with a solo exhibition planned for 2023. In Spring 2021 Wesley won the Portraiture Prize in London Live’s The Next Big Thing. The prize organised by London television channel London Live was to create a work that captured the ‘spirit of London’. Wesley’s work was showcased in the accompanying TV programme and exhibited at the Old Design Museum.

Encouraged by 2019 shortlisted artist Linnet Panashe Rubaya, Wesley entered and was shortlisted for the Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award 2021. How did that feel? “That all my hard work on the application had paid off! And I was excited to show my work in the beautiful space at the Saatchi Gallery. When I saw my pieces and how they were arranged in the gallery (by curator Garth Gartrix) they just looked amazing.”

At the launch of the Awards, Wesley met Al Karim Nathoo, CEO of 4C Hotel Group. “I was enjoying talking about my work and practice and it seemed to really resonate with him.” An exciting new partnership between 4C Hotel Group and UK New Artists was launched in the spring of 2022 with Wesley the first recipient of the annual 4C Hotel Group Bursary. Managed by UKNA the bursary offers a 12-month programme of support and significant investment for one new artist per year, over three years.

For Wesley the bursary will provide valuable financial support for him to develop his practice. “Having a separate studio space and the freedom to invest in paint, canvases and resources will enable me to experiment with scale and materials, my parameters are less restricted.”

The partnership also includes a solo exhibition at Canopy by Hilton London City, owned and managed by 4C Hotel Group. This opportunity is an exciting one for Wesley “It is not a gallery space and there will be so many different and diverse people from all walks of life passing through, a lot more eyes on my work. Which is what you want as an artist, you don’t want to be limited to one audience.”

UKNA caught up with the winners and runners-up from the 2019 and 2021 Awards to chat about their many achievements so far, plans for the future, and how they felt about being involved in the Awards.

Conor Rogers, Winner 2019

Time seems to have flown past, who'd have thought that the year after I won the prize the world would shut down for the pandemic. Though I remained optimistic and ambitious with my work and projects. My highlights include being accepted into the Freelands Foundation Residency program which was essential in assisting the development of my practice. In 2021 I had a successful debut solo show 'Manor Boy' in my hometown of Sheffield and for the first time exhibited poetry, a new artistic territory of mine. Most recently I have opened an exhibition of socially engaged portraiture 'Creative Connections' at the Millennium Gallery, Sheffield. This project was in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery, Museum Sheffield and my old school. It was my first commission by a major institution to lead a project and deliver an exhibition both as artist and curator. (the show is on now until 2nd October).

‘Home’ by Conor Rogers. Photo by Reece Straw.

Winning the Award had a huge impact on me and my art practice, though I think my work was already heading towards new territories at the time I applied. Winning the prize justified the risks I was starting to take with my practice. It may sound like a cliché but just making the application is an achievement, because you have had the courage to do it. Receiving this prize only further strengthened my belief in pursuing art as a career.

I have worked with the UKNA on many varying projects, they have always been willing to continue to offer advice, attend your shows, and just be there for you when you need it. They genuinely care about their relationship with artists and provide so many platforms for the community to engage with their projects. I am so honoured to be a part of their story and owe so much gratitude to the memories we have all made. I couldn't recommend working with UKNA enough and entering the prize is a must for any emerging artists.

Camilla Hanney, runner-up, 2019

Wandering Womb. 2021. porcelain, pearl lustre, gold lustre. Image courtesy the artist.

Since receiving the UK New Artist runner-up award in 2019, my work has been exhibited by a diverse range of galleries in the UK including No. 20 Arts, Muse Gallery, Dora House, Cromwell Place, Backloft Gallery, Swiss Church, Sarabande Foundation and The Rosenfeld Gallery. I was selected as one of the 2020 Gilbert Bayes Sculpture Award winners and was granted the 2020 Irish Visual Arts Bursary Award. I am the recipient of the 2022 Newbury Trust Craft Excellence Award in conjunction with Cockpit Arts. I recently received the 2022 Artist initiated project award in tandem with the Irish Arts Council, which granted me a funded solo show at Pallas Project Gallery earlier this year.

I feel receiving the runner-up award had a huge impact on my work. The award provided me with the financial means to purchase a kiln for my studio, enabling me to continue exercising my interest in ceramics. Since acquiring a kiln, clay has become an integral medium in my practice. The award not only provided me with the monetary means to support my practice, it also provided me with confidence and a real sense of support in my art making. I feel at this very early, precarious stage in my career support holds immeasurable worth.

I would absolutely recommend others to enter the competition. Having my work exhibited in a prestigious gallery such as Saatchi was a huge milestone in my creative career. Alongside exposure, the competition really offers a springboard to artists who are hoping to take the next step in their career.

Anne von Freyburg, winner 2021

Anne von Freyburg. Photo by Reece Straw.

Receiving the first prize was not only a huge recognition and a confidence boost but it also gave validation for textiles as a contemporary art form.

With the cash prize I was able to invest more time and money into my work which gave me the opportunity to make bigger pieces. Through the event and the display at Saatchi Gallery I made contact with curators which resulted in me having more shows in London. And having a Dutch background the Award helped me feel part of the UK art scene.

Since I won the award I had a lot of exhibitions in London and one in The Netherlands. I presented new and older work together with painter Rinke Nijburg at Gallery 0-68, NL under the title ‘Figure This’. I was part of a group show at L’etrangere in London and in May I won the Tsivrikos Shake Art Award. They recently exhibited three of my textile pieces in the group show ‘Salon’ on New Bond Street. At the UKNA event I met art collector and curator Brad Keats who asked me to participate in the group show ‘Go Figure’ at Daniel Raphael Gallery in London. Some great news is that my work is selected for the 17th Tapestry Triennial in the Centralne Muzeum in Lodz, Poland. Showing from October to April, it is the oldest and one of the most prestigious presentations of textile art.

I would encourage every emerging artist working in any media with a resolved art practice to enter the competition. I felt absolutely supported by UKNA, as they always answered all my questions and helped me get in contact with an art accountant. The prize winning event and exhibiting at Saatchi Gallery is a great opportunity to show your work to art professionals and grow your network. The cash prize is a bonus. I really can’t think of any reasons not to apply.

Jarvis Brookfield, Winner of the People’s Choice Award

The experience of having my work exhibited at Saatchi was fantastic. Seeing it in that amazing space and being able to experience how engaged people were with the work, and how my works resonated, I felt I needed to create larger paintings! I feel tremendously grateful to have been able to contribute and be a part of the event.

'From roots to Fruit' by Jarvis Brookfield, as part of ‘The World Reimagined’ globe project. Photo courtesy the artist.

I’m currently in the final year of my Fine Art MA at De Montfort University. UKNA’s Leicester City Takeover in February was such an amazing thing to be a part of. I sincerely loved that event, both being able to exhibit some older paintings which hadn’t been seen alongside new ones and being exposed to so many brilliantly creative people expressing themselves through a variety of mediums. One of my paintings was recently chosen to be a part of the NAE Open 22 (New Art Exchange, Nottingham). I was also contacted by the charity The World Reimagined and commissioned to paint a globe to be exhibited in Leicester as part of their nationwide art education project to transform how we understand the transatlantic trade of enslaved Africans, and its impact on all of us. In the studio, I’m currently working on my most ambitious and largest series of paintings yet and exploring ways to exhibit them in 2023.

The whole team at UKNA means what they say. Their ethos of placing artists at the centre of their organisation is clearly expressed through their variety of brilliant projects, communications, and resources. UKNA makes you feel that you’re a part of something bigger in a meaningful way. I trust and support them and yes, I have, do, and would again encourage fellow artists to enter and get involved.

Catriona Robertson, runner-up, 2021

Catriona Robertson. Photo by Reece Straw.

It was absolutely incredible to win second prize, it was totally unexpected, and I was humbled to be a part of it! It’s been a whirlwind of back-to-back exhibitions since then and my network has exploded. After the Awards I was selected for the Gilbert Bayes Award at the Royal Society of Sculptors. Sometimes it can be a bit daunting to be a sculptor and think about an ‘artist career’ and what it means to sell your work. The support of the UKNA and the Royal Society of Sculptors has given me a real confidence booster.

The financial support of the award has enabled me to keep my studio at SET in Woolwich, continue to make work on a large scale, and invest in new pigments and materials that I had wanted to introduce for a while. This has helped me to develop a new body of work where I’ve been able to take the time to make new smaller works. I've had a phenomenal response to these new smaller sculptures, some of which hang on the wall, and I have sold quite a lot which I have never done before.

In May I was also invited to take part in ‘Lost in a Just in Time Supply Chain’ curated by Josh C Wright and Hypha Studios, at the former Peacocks in Catford. I’ve also been able to take the time to start adapting my work for the outdoors, as I have aspirations of creating public artworks and pushing the scale of my work.

This summer I’ve been working on an outdoor commission during a residency at the Merz Barn Project in Elterwater, Lake District. The exhibition is part of the 75th Anniversary of the Merz Barn, in Elterwater, the last studio of the German artist Kurt Schwitters. The exhibition is on show until the end of November.

Would you recommend applying for the Award? Yes, I say anything goes, be big and bold and show your best work, whatever is unique to you. It was an event I will remember for the rest of my life!

The call for entries for the 2022 Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year award in collaboration with Saatchi Gallery closes on Wednesday 31st August at 11.59pm. Submit your application here.