The finalists for The Graduate Art Prize 2017 have just been revealed. The Graduate Art Prize, an increasingly influential awards programme now into its fifth year, is open to all final-year students on BA and MA degree courses at British art colleges or universities. This year sees 26 finalist artists and artworks selected from an increasing pool of high-quality submissions, with an incredible 87% increase this year in overall submissions, compared to 2016. Voting is now open to the public, with the final prize-winner to be selected exclusively as a result of this public vote.
People are encouraged to vote for as many artists and works as they wish via the following link -
The Graduate Art Prize is the brainchild of leading art consultancy ARTIQ, with sponsorship and support from the London office of global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, who also host the award evening. Both companies selected the shortlisted entries for the prize and the prize winner will be announced this year on November 8th at a Private View at the offices of Herbert Smith Freehills by John Corrie, Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills’ London Office, together with ARTIQ CEO Patrick McCrae.
ARTIQ’s Arts Manager Helen Buckley commented on this year’s submissions, ‘We are particularly pleased with the increasing geographical spread of the finalists, with entries this year from 34 different colleges and universities across the UK. Just over two-thirds of entrants are from BA courses and around one third from graduating MA students. The increase in the overall volume of entries only underlines further the quality of the final shortlist.’
The winning artist will receive a £1000 cash prize, as well as – along with all other shortlisted artists - the chance to be represented by ARTIQ in their future careers. ARTIQ works with interior designers and architects, as well as corporate and hospitality clients to promote the use of art in the workplace and in hospitality and residential environments through the curation of art collections on a sale, rental, exhibition or bespoke commission basis.
‘Signing with an art consultancy provides an entry point for young artists into the corporate art market and helps those artists get a foothold and start to build a name,’ commented ARTIQ CEO Patrick McCrae. ‘Too many talented artists in this country simply give up because it’s such a struggle to make a living and pay rent, especially in a major city environment. We’re very proud of our record with young artists and of the support and boost this prize can offer, especially for those who think galleries and private commissions are the only real possibility for furthering careers.’
Last year’s winner was Marley Treloar, a Canadian artist who had just graduated from The University of Gloucestershire, before going on to do her MA. Her winning artwork ‘Gardens’ looked at ideas and themes of family bonds through an abstract gaze. Marley commented on her win one year on, ‘The prize has been invaluable. Signing with ARTIQ exposed me to the professional world, which was a very useful experience, and a major hotelier has now purchased my work. The money has of course been useful, but, most of all, on a personal level, the award encouraged me to be more ambitious and to push the scale and scope of my work even further.’
The Graduate Art Prize was first set up by ARTIQ together with Herbert Smith Freehills in 2013, growing out of a pre-existing working relationship, after ARTIQ was commissioned to build an arts strategy for the law firm’s London office, including cataloguing and selling part of the company’s original art collection.
John Corrie of Herbert Smith Freehills commented, ‘It is, as ever, a delight to be co-sponsoring this event for young artists. For me personally, it was a real treat to be involved in this year's short-listing, albeit that the job of choosing amongst these though-provoking works gets harder every year, with an incredible variety to review.
Not only are we privileged to be able to be involved in judging the artists' work, but we also thank them for letting us display their art at our offices. Many of my colleagues at Herbert Smith Freehills have commented on how the high quality and variety of the pieces have made an exciting addition to our conference area. We are proud to host the event and wish all of the artists well in their careers.’
Notes to Editors:
For more information on the prize or ARTIQ, please contact Caroline Collett of Caroline Collett PR Ltd on T/F: 01297 444179 M: 07801 270598 E: [email protected]
About ARTIQ:
ARTIQ was set up in 2009 by MD and Founder Patrick McCrae with the aim of bringing great art to great spaces by facilitating the commissioning, buying and renting of art in the public and private domains. The company works in the UK and internationally and represents some of the most exciting and dynamic up-and-coming artists and established talents, as well as having access to collections from institutions including The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery and The British Library. Giving artists not only great exposure, but a fair deal, is key to the company’s ethos, ensuring that clients become not only art collectors, but art patrons too.
www.artiq.co
About Herbert Smith Freehills:
Operating from 26 offices across Asia Pacific, EMEA and North America, Herbert Smith Freehills is at the heart of the new global business landscape providing premium quality, full-service legal advice. We provide many of the world’s most important organisations with access to market leading dispute resolution, projects and transactional legal advice, combined with expertise in a number of global industry sectors, including energy, natural resources, infrastructure and financial services.