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Before stepping down as President & Provost of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº, Professor Michael Arthur launched the new ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East Provost Art Prize.

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¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East Provost's Art Prize
¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East Provost's Art Prize, 2020

Before stepping down as President & Provost of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº, Professor Michael Arthur launched the new ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East Provost Art Prize.

Until the opening of the new campus, the Prize will annually recognise the achievements of five graduates from the Slade School of Fine Art, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº who will each receive a £2,000 award. Their selected artwork will feature at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East, on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.

This new prize reflects ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East’s commitment to animate its buildings through public art while celebrating students’ achievements and helping them start their artistic careers.

At a time when art and culture is one of the sectors most badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East is supporting ¹û¶³Ó°Ôºâ€™s new art graduates with the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East Provost Art Prize.

At the 2020 Slade Graduate Show, the selection panel for the Provost Prize included the former ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº President & Provost Prof Michael Arthur, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East Director Prof Paola Lettieri, Slade Director Kieren Reed, and ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº Head of Public Art Sam Wilkinson.

They selected works from three graduates and invited two artists to create new work specifically for ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East.

The 2020 awardees are:

Former ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº President & Provost, Professor Michael Arthur, said:

“I was very proud to award the first ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East Provost Art Prize awards. My personal interest in the arts has only grown at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº, due to the excellent work of the Slade, and it is a deep satisfaction for me to be able to select the first artworks to be exhibited on our new campus, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East.â€

Professor Paola Lettieri, Director of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East, said:

“The public art and community engagement programme is an important part of the development at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East, and I am delighted that it enables us to celebrate the work of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº students from around the world.

With the Slade coming to ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East in 2022, it is part of the ethos of ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East that the work of its students should be reflected throughout the development, and for the buildings to be animated by thought-provoking artwork that they produce.â€Â 

Kieren Reed, Director of the Slade School of Fine Art, said:

“The ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East Provost Art Prize offers a fantastic opportunity for our final year students, as they make the transition from study to professional practice. This award comes at a timely moment considering Covid-19’s impact on the arts and I am pleased that with this Prize, ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº will be able to support a number of our new graduates each year.

The selected works, in print, painting, media, performance and sculpture, reflect our students’ creativity and the breadth of teaching at the Slade.

We very much look forward to celebrating the prize winners’ achievements and seeing the works in situ when ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East opens.â€

Sam Wilkinson, Head of Public Art at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº, said:

“We are thrilled that the public art programme for the ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East campus will now include this annual prize to celebrate the achievements of Slade graduates.

Especially as we are facing a difficult time, it is crucial that we actively work and support talented emerging artists coming out of the Slade. The Covid-19 pandemic has only worsened the situation of artist graduates, it is important for ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº to be supporting our community.â€

This news was originally published on ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº East's website.