Artworks Open, Abbey Awards, RSA Winner
£9k Rome scholarship, £1k awards & London solo shows, Samantha Clark feature, Children's art prizes
Hi! Let’s all pretend this is Tuesday and isn’t a day late. Merci, on with the art…
Only a week to go to get your submissions in for Artworks Open 2023 - the annual exhibition from the Barbican Arts Group Trust.
Two different contemporary artists are chosen to curate the show each year - this year’s artists are Jasleen Kaur and Rudy Loewe.
Two winners will each receive £1,000 prizes and solo shows at the London gallery. Among other prizes are 6 week residencies and a £250 materials prize.
UK and International artists can apply, £12 entry for 1 work (closes 2nd November)
Art Competitions
Newly opened around the web (not on MoMa)…
RSPB Inspiring Nature Calendar Competition - win HDX binoculars worth £700, ‘we are looking for twelve inspiring photographs of nature and wildlife to feature in our Inspiring Nature Calendar 2025’ Your image could be a bird, bug, plant, animal or even a beautiful view. If it was taken by you in the UK, we’d love to see it!’ Free (31 Oct)
Baltic Open Submission - looking for local artists based in NE England, to be a part of a multi-media exhibition of 100 works at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. (27 Nov)
Abbey Awards - The Abbey Scholarship offers a £9,000 stipend for a 9 month painting residency at the British School at Rome. Abbey Fellowships offer £4,500 stipend for 3 month resdiencies. Past winners. Open to UK and US citizens/residents. (14 Jan)
UK Art Competitions - 11 open
Photography Competitions - 7 open
Children’s Art Competitions
Newly opened on MoMa and elsewhere…
Blue Dot Art Competition for COP 28 - Create a painting around the theme of climate change and it’s impact on our oceans, 30 artworks will be chosen for an exhibition at COP 28 in UAE, ages: under 18s, global (30 Oct)
Jeffrey Ahn, Jr. Fellowship - Up to $10,000 in creative grants for young artists to create ambitious projects, up to age 17 from anywhere in the world, free (16 Dec)
Go Ape Christmas Card Competition - win a class trip to Go Ape! See your design on Christmas ecard, theme: ‘Christmas Outdoors’, ages: 4-11, UK (16 Dec)
Centre for Personalised Medicine Art Competition - £100 1st prize, ‘create art about screening newborn babies for disease’, age: years 7/8/9 of UK secondary school (26 Jan)
Kid’s Art Competitions - 13 open
RSA MacRobert Art Award Winner
Congratulations to Orkney-based artist Samantha Clark, winner of the inaugural RSA MacRobert Art Award for Painting (£20,000). Read Clark’s reaction on the RSA Blog:
“I had to read the email several times because I couldn’t quite take it in! The implications of this award and what it will enable me to do are still sinking in. This opportunity to set aside other income-generating work and immerse myself in painting for a significant period of time to really push myself creatively and professionally, is transformational, a gift beyond words. I can’t thank the MacRobert Trust enough for their generosity.”
Water is a recurring element that flows through Clark’s work - “I watch the water and then I try to draw it. I catch it in tiny circles or lines, each one a single drop, a moment gathered, stilled and set down.” Watch Clark’s fascinating 15 minute presentation for the Open University below, or read the full transcript with images.
In Clark’s recent show CONFLUENCE visitors were invited to collaborate on a large-scale drawing, formed from thousands of tiny white circles that flowed together to form a great wave (Insta video here). See also the 30 metre long mural ‘Flow’ created for Balfour Hospital, Kirkwall - Clark shares her methods & thought process here. Some beautiful works on paper and panel available from Clark’s studio here.
Clark’s memoir ‘The Clearing: A Memoir Of Art, Family and Mental Health’ is available at Amazon & Bookshop, read more of her soulful writing at The Life Boat.
Art Opportunities
New arts jobs this week in England, Scotland, Wales, NI, Ireland & UK wide.
Art opportunities worldwide from Art Deadline, Art Rabbit & ArtistOpenCalls.
Audrey Amiss spent 30 years as a civil service typist – but led a secret life as an artist. Read more about Carol Morley’s new film here. In UK cinemas from 27th Oct.
Reading List
17 life-learnings from 17 years of The Marginalian - ‘Presence is far more intricate and rewarding an art than productivity.’ Maria Popova on the important stuff.
The world’s most popular painter sent his followers after me because he didn’t like a review of his work. Here’s what I learned - art critic vs TikTok creator.
Is there a sane way to use the internet? - Ezra Klein joins PJ Vogt on the Search Engine podcast. Logged off Twitter since listening to this.
So good. View every work in The RA Young Artist’s Summer Show online. Bella’s ‘Mysterious Cat’ painting (about a minute in) is my favourite.
See you next week,
Grant