I’ve always promised to be totally transparent with you dear reader, so I confess to having an interest in the Northern Art Prize…there I said it! I am the lady with the clipboard, oh the power! (I also have a bit of an involvement with the behind the scenes blogging stuff…any of you tweeters out there follow the prize here)
The Northern Art Prize 2010 short-listed artists are Alec Finlay (Newcastle upon Tyne), Lubaina Himid (Preston), David Jacques (Liverpool) and Haroon Mirza (Sheffield). From Yorkshire to Tyneside, Liverpool to Middlesbrough and all points in between, the hunt to celebrate the best contemporary artist in the North, has been whittled down to:
Alec Finlay, Newcastle
Born in Scotland in 1966, Alec is an internationally recognised artist and poet who works across a wide range of media and forms – poetics, sculpture, collage, audio-visual and new technology. His practice is collaborative and in his residencies at BALTIC, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the New and Renewable Energy Centre he has produced a series of acclaimed participative projects, from innovative publications to windmill turbines. He has published over 20 books and won 2 Scottish Design Awards. Recently he has conceived Home to a king (3), a nation-wide project on biodiversity, installing a series of nest-boxes in gardens, parks, and woodlands.
Lubaina Himid,
Lubaina (55) has participated at an international level in visual arts since the early 1980s as a painter, writer and curator. Currently Professor of Contemporary Art at the University of Central Lancashire, recent work includes Jelly Mould Pavilions 2010 in collaboration with National Museums Liverpool, a participatory project that culminated in an exhibition of 40 Jelly Mould Pavilion maquettes, displayed across four museums, a shop and a women’s college in Liverpool. Celebrating the cultural contribution of the people of the African Diaspora to the wealth of the city, the work tests whether there can ever be a truly creative collaboration between artist and museums, the role of museums in discussions around cultural histories and the part audiences can play in the development of cities.
David Jacques, Liverpool
Born and bred in Liverpool, David (46) is particularly interested in the ways in which history is written; how, through the constant breaking down and reassessment of a subject, forgotten or disruptive sources can come to light and offer a whole new understanding. His recent work ‘North Canada – English Electric’ – an investigation into post industrial landscapes – began as a photo essay which, when mixed with a narrative on loss of identity, became a multi layered re-staging of historical events. David is also shortlisted for the 2010 Liverpool Art Prize, the winner of which will be announced on 30 June, alongside previous Northern Art Prize winner Paul Rooney.
Haroon Mirza, Sheffield
Haroon (33) explores how sight and sound can come together to form one piece of artwork, often by juxtaposing furniture, household electronics, video and existing artwork. Haroon explores the relationships between cultural groups and music; a recent example of this is ‘An_Infinato’, a three piece installation which includes film material by Jeremy Deller and Guy Sherwin, light and sound works brought together to produce not only a piece of experimental music but a complex mix of narratives, images and art history references.
Pippa Hale, Director of the Northern Art Prize said: “Today’s artists are constantly under pressure to be accessible and at the same time to push boundaries. With the Northern Art Prize we want to encourage audiences to have a response to the shortlisted artists’ work and I’m thrilled that we have attracted another sterling line up of artists that will do just that.”
“It is truly testament to the high quality of the previous short listed artists, selectors and Prize exhibitions that once again we have a really strong shortlist and I am sure that picking the winner will give the judges an exciting and thought-provoking challenge.”
The short-list was whittled down by four judges: Collector Richard Greer; Artist Susan Hiller; Journalist, Broadcaster and Author Mark Lawson and Director of Visual Arts for the British Council, Andrea Rose. They will reconvene, chaired by Tanja Pirsig-Marshall, Curator of Exhibitions at Leeds Art Gallery, to select the overall winner who will be announced on 20 January 2011.
They commented: “We debated long and hard over several artists from the long-list who were close contenders for the final short-list. The selected artists are producing work of a very high standard from a broad and varied range of practice.”
“It is a real privilege to get the chance to see all at once a selection of the best current practice in contemporary art in the North of England which seems to have an individual attitude that is not market led.”
“Some of the world’s most interesting and influential artists have made great work later in their careers, so we welcome the Northern Art Prize’s approach that includes artists of any age.”
The winner of the Northern Art Prize, which is sponsored by Logistik, Arup, Leeds City Council and Leeds Metropolitan University, will receive £16,500 with the remaining shortlisted artists each collecting £1,500 prize money.
An exhibition of the shortlisted artists work will be on display at Leeds Art Gallery from 26 November 2010 until 6 February 2011.
nice post. thanks.