This time of year I compile a round-up of artist’s achievements, and with a year unlike any other, these achievements seem all the more significant. That these artists have found the resilience to keep going – with their studio practice, applying for prizes, for residencies, making their work (smaller where necessary), resourcefully curating online shows in the face of closures etc.
And a salute to Myka Baum who turned her art practice into an entirely philanthropic pursuit – setting up N4 Cutting Hub in April, a community initiative of local volunteers; who made 2,000 sets of scrubs for the NHS. More recently they’ve been making masks; more than 5,000 to date. They sell around 5% in order to donate free masks to key workers and the vulnerable in their community (which they consider to be an art project). Over Christmas they spent their excess funds to deliver 126 pizzas and 21 boxes of chocolates to their local Hospital as a sign of our appreciation and to boost morale.
Look back over some of the previous years’ Notable Achievements (see links to: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015..)
Iain Andrews was shortlisted for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020 (used to be Jerwood) and will be showing work in Kyoto and Beijing in the new year (Beijing will be a solo show).
What a year for Lewis Deeney who Graduated with a 1st class honours in contemporary art practice from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. He was awarded both the Sir James Guthrie Orchar memorial award and the Farquhar Reid Trust prize. Was one of eight UK graduate selected for the Freelands Painting Prize. Started an MFA Art & Humanities at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. Was granted the William S Phillips Award, which covers my tuitions fees and provided a living cost bursary. Made it to the semi-finals of the 2020 King house Gallery award (finalists to be announced in the new year). Offered his first solo show at the Fire Station Creative, Fife and exhibited at the following shows:
What Is Art? Boomer Gallery, London, UK
Interactions of Colour, RGI Kelly Gallery, Glasgow, UK
Winter Exhibition, Six Foot Gallery, Glasgow,
UK Freelands Painting Prize Exhibition, Freelands Gallery, London, UK
DJCAD Online Graduate Showcase
Then & Now, Matthew Gallery DJCAD, Dundee, Scotland.
That’s a Wrap… Almost, Generator Projects, Dundee, Scotland,
It’s the Pits, DJCAD, Dundee, Scotland.
River Deep Mountain High, Lamb Gallery, Dundee, Scotland.
Members Show, Generator Projects, Dundee, Scotland.
Controlled Entropy, Matthew Gallery DJCAD, Dundee, Scotland.
Margaret had 3 works selected for the ING Discerning Eye exhibition this year and was also selected and hung at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2020.
This year Morag Caister was a semi finalist in the latest series of Sky Arts, Portrait artist of the year, was selected for ING Discerning Eye 2020, exhibited in Fair Ground with Gallery 94 and sold all works in the show.
Evie Banks won the Young Artist (Under 25) Prize in the Wales Contemporary 2020 exhibition this year at The Waterfront Gallery.
Rosemary Burn was shortlisted to exhibit at BP portrait award, National Portrait Gallery, her work was featured in House and Garden magazine, she exhibited in Royal Institute of Oil Painter exhibition 2020, Mall Galleries London. Selected for a one person show ‘Amalgam’ in 2021 by The Space Theatre, London
Orlanda Broom was selected for the RA Summer Exhibition and Wells Contemporary this year. And commissioned to make a painting for the collection of an international law firm.
Heather Gentleman held a solo exhibition, Expedition of the Fantastical, in the Dignam Gallery, Toronto as part of her awarded, fully funded 10 month residency at Woman’s Art Association of Canada. Her work, “Cardinal Bird”, become part of the permanent collection of Regis College, University of Toronto, Toronto. Heather was also offered a placement as an Artist in Residence in the Arctic Circle Residency which is located on a tall ship circumventing the Svalbard Archipelago. The residency includes artists and scientists from around the world. Hopefully they will be sailing in June 2021.
Emma-Louise Grady won the Fleming-Wyfold Foundation award for best painter of 2020. Society of Botanical Artists Plantae 2020.
Many shortlists and prizes for Molly Kent this year including: RSA New Contemporaries 2021, Visual Art and Craft Makers Award, Degree Show Purchase Prize 2020 – University of Edinburgh Art Collection, Visual Arts Scotland Graduate Showcase 2020, Degree Show Competition 2020, Loomshop Gallery Award 2020, Shortlisted for Vlieseline Fine Art Textile Award, Shortlisted for I-D and Artsthread Global Design Graduate Show 2020.
Rosemary was selected this year for Society of Women Artists open exhibition 2020, Society of Botanical Artists Plantae 2020 and ING Discerning Eye exhibition 2020
Agata Czeremuszkin-Chrut was awarded a scholarship from the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Ruth Richmond‘s work: 5 Lockdown Soul Poles was selected for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020. She will be giving a talk about them via eventbrite with Professor Anita Taylor who will be chairing the event on January 12th 2021.
Jan Valik had his first solo exhibition in Belgium, at Husk Gallery in Brussels. Opened just a week prior to the first lockdown, and therefore paused for next 6 weeks, luckily, the exhibition was re-opened and prolonged until the end of June. The Exhibition titled ‘Verge’ received a 4* review in Belgian magazine Arts Libre (Issue June 3rd).
Emiko Aida exhibited widely mainly online during 2020 and was awarded ‘Finalist Award’, Artist of the Year Competition by Circle Foundation for Arts, Lyon, France. (She was due to exhibit at VOLTA Basel though sadly this was cancelled).
Iona Hall’s ‘Channels’ Box was selected for a silversmithing exhibition at the start of the year called ‘Open Up Hammerclub’ in The Netherlands. My work has also been selected for two online exhbitions called ‘F L O W’ with Visual Arts Scotland and ‘With Love’ with Paint Talk. My boxes were also shortlisted for the Zealous Stories: Craft 2020.
Steve Burden exhibited widely this year – at Centrespace Gallery, Bristol Kosar Contemporary, ING Discerning Eye, London, Wiltshire Creative – Salisbury Art Centre. He was selected for the John Moores Prize, selected to be a member of Bricks Bristol, received ACE Funding and the Freelands Foundation Award.
Toni Cogdell was selected for the ING Discerning Eye 2020 and for the RWA 168th Open Exhibition. A body of work acquired by the collection of Goldie’s Aurum Gallery, Thailand.
Janine Hall had work selected for the Derwent Drawing Prize and The Society of Women’s Art. Her drawing group, HB Drawing curated a lovely online show at https://foundintranslationonline.wordpress.com …Isabel Seligman, from the British Museum introduced the show via an online PV courtesy of Zoom. She has been in both of Rod Kitson’s shows… Isolation Art July 2020 and the current show Class of 2020. Both shows were voted one of the top five shows to see by The London Art Critic, Tabish Khan.
Rebecca Fontaine-Wolf held her first solo show in Lisbon, as well as completing a 2 month residency at PADA in Lisbon and is about to embark on another residency at Azan Space. Her work was selected for the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition and the RWA Annual Open, Bristol.
Alice Miller was selected for the ING Discerning Eye 2020. Additionall she exhibited at ‘Visual Impact’ at the MTC, Coventry and in ‘Home (work)’, a group online exhibition with ArtHelix Gallery (Brooklyn, NY) and SHIM Art Network.
Louis Lisle was selected to exhibit in the RSA New Contemporaries exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh
Naomi Mcclure had 3 paintings exhibited in the SSA|VAS Open Exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy where she was awarded the Leith School of Art Award. Then in February, also at the Royal Scottish Academy, she was a RSA New Contemporaries exhibiting artist. Showing 5 paintings, which were awarded the David and June Gordon Memorial Trust Award. She also had her first solo show “Fragments of Beautreillis” in October with Second Home Aberdeen. She is currently working towards a solo show in Edinburgh with Upright Gallery in March 2021.
Myka Baum set up N4 Cutting Hub in April, a community initiative of local volunteers; Who made 2,000 sets of scrubs for the NHS. More recently they’ve been making masks; more than 5,000 to date. They sell around 5% in order to donate free masks to key workers and the vulnerable in their community (which they consider this to be an art project). Over Christmas they spent excess funds to delivery 126 pizzas and 21 boxes of chocolates to their local Hospital as a sign of our appreciation and to boost morale.
Kira Phoenix K’inan exhibited at Design Nation at OXO Tower Wharf, OXO Tower, Visual Arts Open, ING Discerning Eye, Virtual Exhibition, Vienna Calling : All You Need Is Love, Atelier Cool Pool, Vienna.
She was shortlisted, Visual Arts Open, 2020
Madeline exhibited at Hauser and Wirth in Bruton.
For Lindsay Mapes – all her art accomplishments are happening in 2021. As for 2020, so far the best achievement yet!