In addition to our ongoing commitment to assisting established arts prizes and cultural charities, this past year we are thrilled to have been able to provide £33,750 in bursaries and prizes to students from UK arts universities in 2019. 

Our status as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company means that we operate solely for the benefit of our member artists, and that any surplus income we receive is used for the benefit of our members and the wider artistic community. This commitment has supported a wide variety of charities and educational projects since our establishment in 2006.

As well as renewing long standing prizes and bursaries, in 2019 we have partnered with more universities and charities than ever before to ensure that students and emerging artists are supported.

This year also marked the beginning of our partnership with the Palazzo Monti Residency Program, an international opportunity for an artist to enjoy a six-week residency in a stunning 13th-century palazzo in Brescia, Italy.

The ACS Studio Prize was also reintroduced in 2019 to offer one recent graduate a £6,000 prize to help source their own dedicated studio space in the UK. Five finalists were chosen from over 300 submissions, marking a huge increase in applications from the inaugural Prize in 2017. This year judges Lady Bridgeman CBE, founder of the Artists’ Collecting Society (ACS), renowned artist Cathie Pilkington RA and Director & Curator of the Ingram Collection Jo Baring awarded the prize to painter Araminta Blue Wieloch.

Our long standing relationships with institutions such as the University of West England, Bristol and Falmouth University were again renewed this year to help undergraduate students purchase art supplies. At masters level, our postgraduate bursaries at the Slade School of Fine Art (UCL), University of Edinburgh and the Royal Academy Schools were also delivered this year.

We continue to work with the City & Guilds of London Art School to offer an undergraduate student a £1,000 prize to assist with materials, and a postgraduate student a larger £6,000 prize to help rent a studio space in London during the vital transition from student to practising artist. This year, artist Eleanor May Watson was awarded the year-long Studio Residency.

A huge congratulations to all prize and bursary winners! Over the next few months we will be publishing interviews from our Student Spotlight – catch up here with interviews from previous years.

Araminta Blue Wieloch

Undergraduate Prize – Annapurna Austin

Studio Residency – Eleanor May Watson

Drawing Prize – Beth Rodway

Materials Prize – Arwen Nia Condry Demmar-Waters

Materials Prize – Hannah Day

Materials Prize – Luke Knight

Bursary – Jenkin van Zyl

Residency Prize – Diane Dal Pra

Studio Award – Alex Hayward

Materials Prize – Liberty Quinn

Materials Prize – Josie Argyle

ACS Prize – Charles Westgarth

ACS Hardship Fund