Each year we invite established professionals, subject experts, artists and creatives from across the UK to form part of the independent Jury that will select this year’s Shortlisted Artists and Fellow.

We are thrilled to share that the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Visual Art Jury Members are:

Marie-Anne McQuay 

Marie-Anne McQuay is the guest Curator for Liverpool Biennial 2025. She is currently on secondment from Arts&Heritage as Director of Projects and was previously Head of Programme at the Bluecoat, Liverpool (2015 – June 2022) and Curator at Spike Island, Bristol (2007-2013). She was also Curator of Wales in Venice 2019 with artist Sean Edwards and Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham. Marie-Anne is currently part of the Arts Council Collection Acquisitions Committee 2022-25, on the Advisory Board of At The Library, Sefton and External Examiner for Art Museum and Gallery Studies MA, University of Leicester 2023-26.

Priyesh Mistry

Priyesh Mistry is Associate Curator of Modern & Contemporary Projects at the National Gallery, London where he manages an ambitious programme to connect contemporary art with its historic collections through artists residencies and contemporary commissions, most recently with Céline Condorelli, Nalini Malani and Ali Cherri. Previously, he was Assistant Curator, International Art at Tate Modern where he specialised on art from South Asia for the collection and numerous exhibitions and commissions. He is a Trustee of Studio Voltaire, a member of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the British School at Rome and the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group led by the Mayor of London’s office.

Sinta Tantra

Sinta Tantra is interested in the interplay between colour, light, geometric and organic forms. Her paintings and installations are created in response to time and space, and are designed to subtly transform throughout the day, offering shifting moods and perspectives. Whether produced on a monumental scale or precisely rendered on canvas, her compositions employ a universal visual language that shifts the focus away from meaning to the emotional and physical experience of the artwork. Tantra’s work has been exhibited at numerous international biennials, art fairs and in group exhibitions such as A New Paradise at the Saatchi Gallery in London (2022), Light in Retrospective at ISA Art and Design, Jakarta (2022), Small is Beautiful (2022) at the Flowers Gallery, London, Framer Framed (2020) in Amsterdam, the Karachi Biennale (2019), the Folkestone Triennial UK (2017) and the Liverpool Biennial UK (2012). Tantra’s work is part of the Government Art Collection, the Benetton Foundation collection, Museum MACAN, the Louis Vuitton collection and other private international collections.

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The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their careers with £20,000 unconditional Fellowships.

The Visual Art Award Shortlist will be revealed in January 2025, and the recipient of the £20,000 Fellowship will be announced at a live Award Ceremony in February 2025, with all Shortlisted Artists awarded £1,000.

The Visual Art Award is supported by The Yoma Sasburg Estate.

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.

If you’d like to discuss press and media opportunities, please contact us: press@artsfoundation.co.uk.

Each year we invite established professionals, subject experts and artists and creatives from across the UK to form part of the independent Jury that will select this year’s Shortlisted Artists and Fellow.

We are thrilled to share that the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Theatre Jury Members are:

Anna Fleischle

Anna Fleischle is an Olivier award-winning and Tony-nominated production set and costume designer. Anna’s theatre credits include: A Child of Science (Bristol Old Vic); Punch (Nottingham Playhouse/ Young Vic 2025) Nachtland (Young Vic); The Time Travellers Wife (West End); The Pillowman (West End); The Collaboration (Broadway/Young Vic); Death Of A Salesman (Broadway/Young Vic/West End); 2:22 A Ghost Story (West End/LA/Tour/Melbourne); Hangmen (Broadway/West End/Royal Court), for this production Anna received a Tony Award nomination 2022, Olivier Award For Best Set Design, Critics Circle Award for ‘Best Designer’ and the Evening Standard Award for ‘Best Design’. Anna’s fellowships include: Founding Member of Scene/Change, Associate Artist Young Vic, and Trustee Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

Paul Handley 

Paul has worked in theatre production for the last 35 years. For many years he was Head of Production at the Royal Court Theatre focused on delivering new plays by both new and established writers including Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill, Tom Stoppard, Jez Butterworth, Conor McPherson, Martin McDonagh and Sarah Kane. For the last decade he has worked at the National Theatre where he is Production and Technical Director. He sits on the Linbury Prize Committee and chairs the Genesis Theatre Design Programme.

Stella Kanu 

Stella Kanu is CEO at Shakespeare’s Globe and was previously Executive Director at LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre). At LIFT she led the strategic strands of the business as well as presenting and executive producing international work like 2019 Venice Biennale Golden Lion winner Climate-Opera from Lithuania Sun & Sea (2022) and Australia’s The Second Woman (2023) starring two-time Olivier Award winner Ruth Wilson in an internationally acclaimed feat of endurance theatre and live cinema. 

Stella has worked in the theatre, festival, and cultural sector for 30 years and sat on several strategic and governing bodies including All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Theatre, and is Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s representative to Arts Council London Area. Stella is an Honorary Fellow at Rose Bruford College (2021), was named one of the Alfred Fagon Award 25 Black Theatre Champions (2022) was recently named one of the 100 Black Women to Have Make a Mark (2023) and alongside Globe Artistic Director Michelle Terry is listed in The Stage 100 power list (2024).

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The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal  moment in their careers with £20,000 unconditional Fellowships.

The Theatre Award is generously supported in partnership with The David Collins Foundation, with development support from The Maria Björnson Memorial Fund.

The Theatre Award Shortlist will be revealed in January 2025, and the recipient of the £20,000 Fellowship will be announced at a live Award Ceremony in February 2025, with all Shortlisted Artists awarded £1,000.

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.

If you’d like to discuss press and media opportunities, please contact us: press@artsfoundation.co.uk. 

Each year we invite established professionals, subject experts and artists and creatives from across the UK to form part of the independent Jury that will select this year’s Shortlisted Artists and Fellow.

We are thrilled to share that the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Film Jury Members are:

Joanna Hogg 

Joanna Hogg is a British director and screenwriter. She started her career as a photographer and then after fifteen years directing television drama, wrote and directed her first feature film Unrelated (2008). She followed this with six more feature films; Archipelago (2010), Exhibition (2013), The Souvenir (2019), The Souvenir Part II (2021) and The Eternal Daughter (2022). She is currently preparing her next film to be shot in Los Angeles in 2025.

Peter Suschitzky

Peter Suschitzky is a film cinematographer and photographer. Peter was born in London and attended film school in Paris at IDHEC, now La Fémis (FEMIS). Peter started his career as a cinematographer, aged 21 by shooting documentaries during a year in Latin America. He shot his first movie in London, called ‘It Happened Here’ which imagined a Britain occupied by the Germans during WW2. 

Peter continued to shoot movies, such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Empire Strikes Back and eleven films with David Cronenberg as well as Mars Attacks with Tim Burton and Tale of Tales with Mateo Garrone. In parallel with his work as a cinematographer, Peter has always followed his passion for classical music and for making photographs. Peter is currently preparing a book, showing the work of the four photographers in his family – his aunt, Edith Tudor Hart, his father, Wolfgang Suschitzky, and his own photographs and those of his son, Adam, spanning one hundred years of photography!

Claudia Yusef

Claudia Yusef is Commissioning Executive at BBC Film. She has Executive Produced a number of features and shorts for BBC Film including Clio Barnard’s ALI & AVA; PRAY, novelist Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut short as a director; THE END WE START FROM, the debut feature of Mahalia Belo, written by Alice Birch and starring Jodie Comer; and THE OUTRUN directed by Nora Fingscheidt, based on the best-selling memoir by Amy Liptrot (which Fingscheidt adapted in collaboration with Liptrot) and starring Saoirse Ronan.

Prior to BBC Film, Claudia was Head of Development at Number 9Films where she oversaw the film and television slate. Claudia was previously Talent Development Executive at the Scottish Film Network, part of BFI NETWORK, where she established several new short film programmes and first feature talent development initiatives, and commissioned a series of shorts and first feature developments, working with emerging filmmakers including Ruth Paxton, Cara Connolly, Morayo Akande, and Ben Sharrock. She has an MFA in film from Columbia University, where she received the Hollywood Foreign Press Association scholarship.

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The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their careers with £20,000 unconditional Fellowships.

The Film Award Shortlist will be revealed in January 2025, and the recipient of the £20,000 Fellowship will be announced at a live Award Ceremony in February 2025, with all shortlisted artists awarded £1,000.

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.If you’d like to discuss press and media opportunities, please contact us: press@artsfoundation.co.uk.

Each year we invite established professionals, subject experts, artists and creatives from across the UK to form part of the independent Jury that will select this year’s Shortlisted Designers and Fellow.

We are thrilled to share that the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Design Jury Members are:

Sarah Douglas 

Sarah Douglas is a consultant at the Steve Jobs Archive, an agent for Martino Gamper, and an advisor to brands and cultural institutions. She was previously at Wallpaper* for 16 years as Editor-in-Chief and Creative Director, and prior to that Art Editor at The Architects’ Journal. Sarah is committed to supporting the next generation of creative talent, has hosted talks and panel discussions around the world, and judged numerous international design competitions including the London Design Medal. 

Satoshi Isono

Satoshi is Creative Director of Universal Design Studio, an architecture and interior design studio based in London and New York.  Satoshi heads up Universal Design Studio’s New York studio and has overseen award-winning projects in the retail, innovation and cultural realm. Satoshi has over a decade of teaching experience, and was most recently shaping the next generation  of the Architecture Masters Programme at the Royal College of Art.

Prof. Adrian Lahoud

Prof. Adrian Lahoud is Dean, School of Architecture and Fellow at the Royal College of Art. He sits on the board of the Architecture Foundation, Design Museum Future Observatory, New Architecture Writers, the Arabic cultural platform Ma3azef, and was Convenor and Co-Chair of the Rights of Future Generation Working Group. Prior to his role at RCA, he was director of the MA programme at the Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths and Studio Master in the Projective Cities MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design at the Architectural Association. In 2019 he curated the inaugural Sharjah Architecture Triennial, the first major international platform for architecture and urbanism in the global south. His research work is focused on architecture and urbanism in the global south.

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The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their careers with £20,000 unconditional Fellowships.

The Design Award Shortlist will be revealed in January 2025, and the recipient of the £20,000 Fellowship will be announced at a live Award Ceremony in February 2025, with all Shortlisted Artists awarded £1,000.

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.

If you’d like to discuss press and media opportunities, please contact us: press@artsfoundation.co.uk.

Each year we invite established professionals, subject experts, artists and creatives from across the UK to form part of the independent Jury that will select this year’s Shortlisted Artists and Fellow.

We are thrilled to share that the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Dance Jury Members are:

Holly Blakey

Holly Blakey is a Choreographer / Director whose work straddles the worlds of live performance and film. Interweaving live and commercial contexts, much of her practice often plays on the relationship between these distinct but not wholly separable worlds. Blakey’s work as a Director and Choreographer has featured collaborations with music artists and fashion houses such as Burberry, Dior, Gucci, Rosalia, Harry Styles and Florence and the Machine. 

Blakey presented ‘Cowpuncher My Ass’ (2020), a sequel to the previous world premiere (2018), costumed by Vivienne Westwood and scored by Mica Levi. The show and its sequels ran for five years, closing to a sold out Royal Festival Hall with accompaniment from a twenty piece string orchestra from London Contemporary Orchestra. Holly is currently developing a new live work, A Wound With Teeth to be premiered in 2026.

Sir Wayne McGregor CBE

Sir Wayne McGregor CBE is a British choreographer and director. He is Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor, a creative nexus that pushes the frontiers of physical intelligence through dance, design and technology. Wayne’s work is rooted in dance, yet encompasses a variety of genres including technology, visual art, film, opera and education, as well as Company Wayne McGregor, his own touring company of dancers. Wayne is Resident Choreographer at The Royal Ballet, the first and only choreographer from a contemporary dance background to be invited into the role, as well as Professor of Choreography at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. McGregor’s work has earned him a multitude of awards including two Time Out Awards, two Olivier Awards, a Prix Benois de la Danse and two Golden Mask awards. 

Wayne is also an Ambassador of the Arts Foundation and a past Fellow in Choreography, 1994.

Freddie Opoku-Addaie

Freddie Opoku-Addaie is an International award-winning Dance Artist/Curator/Lecturer. Freddie was Guest Programmer for Dance Umbrella during a three-year initiative from 2016-2019. His Out Of The System programme presented exhilarating work by dance practitioners from the UK and abroad. Freddie is founder, director and CEO of ‘SystemsLAB’ (2016), a platform that offers slack-time for multi-faceted, mid-career artists, invaluable in raising important questions about contemporary dance within and beyond the western cannon, its framing and voices within the industry. Freddie Opoku-Addaie is Artistic Director and co-CEO at Dance Umbrella – London’s International annual dance Festival.

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The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their careers with £20,000 unconditional Fellowships.

The Dance Award Shortlist will be revealed in January 2025, and the recipient of the £20,000 Fellowship will be announced at a live Award Ceremony in February 2025, with all Shortlisted Artists awarded £1,000.

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.If you’d like to discuss press and media opportunities, please contact us: press@artsfoundation.co.uk.

The Arts Foundation is delighted to announce the fifth award category of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 is Visual Art!

The award supports artists working across a broad range of visual art and interdisciplinary art form practices, including, painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture and artist moving image. 

The recipient of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Visual Art will receive an unconditional £20,000 Fellowship, with all three Shortlisted Artists awarded £1,000. 

In the coming weeks, we look forward to announcing this year’s independent Jury of artists and industry professionals! Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.

The Visual Art Award is supported by the Yoma Sasburg Estate.

If you’d like to discuss press and media opportunities for the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025, please contact us: press@artsfoundation.co.uk

For partnerships and award sponsorship opportunities please contact: info@artsfoundation.co.uk

The Arts Foundation is so pleased to announce the fourth award category of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 is Theatre!

The award champions theatre designers developing extraordinary sets or production designs for theatrical presentation.

The recipient of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Theatre will receive an unconditional £20,000 Fellowship, with all three Shortlisted Creatives awarded £1,000. 

In the coming weeks, we look forward to announcing this year’s independent Jury of artists and industry professionals! 

The award is generously supported in partnership with The David Collins Foundation, with development support from The Maria Björnson Memorial Fund.

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.

If you’d like to discuss press and media opportunities for the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025, please contact us: press@artsfoundation.co.uk

For partnerships and award sponsorship opportunities please contact: info@artsfoundation.co.uk 

The Arts Foundation is happy to announce the third award category of the next edition of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 is Film!

This Film Award supports film directors working in any genre of fiction filmmaking, focusing on independent and inventive storytellers.

The recipient of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Film will receive an unconditional £20,000 Fellowship, with all three Shortlisted Filmmakers awarded £1,000. 

In the coming weeks, we look forward to announcing this year’s independent Jury of creatives and industry professionals. 

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.

If you’d like to discuss press and media opportunities for the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025, please contact us: press@artsfoundation.co.uk

For partnerships and award sponsorship opportunities please contact: info@artsfoundation.co.uk

The Arts Foundation is thrilled to announce the second award category of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 is Design!

The Design Award champions contemporary designers with a focus on sustainability working across a broad range of disciplines, from product, material or industrial design to architectural practices.

Building on our historic support for material innovation and regenerative design practices, the award supports designers pushing the boundaries of possibility and design’s capacity for transformative change in the context of the climate crisis. 

The recipient of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Design will receive an unconditional £20,000 Fellowship, with all three Shortlisted Designers awarded £1,000. 

In the coming weeks, we look forward to announcing this year’s independent Jury of industry professionals. 

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.

If you’d like to discuss press and media opportunities for the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025, please contact us: press@artsfoundation.co.uk

For partnerships and award sponsorship opportunities please contact: info@artsfoundation.co.uk

The Arts Foundation is excited to announce the first award category of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 is Dance.

The Dance Award supports choreographers who are expanding the medium of choreography and developing original works.

The recipient of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025 for Dance will receive an unconditional £20,000 Fellowship, with all three Shortlisted Artists awarded £1,000. 

In the coming weeks, we look forward to announcing this year’s independent Jury of artists and industry professionals. 

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.

If you’d like to discuss press and media opportunities for the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2025, please contact us: press@artsfoundation.co.uk

For partnerships and award sponsorship opportunities please contact: info@artsfoundation.co.uk

The Arts Foundation is thrilled to announce a significant increase to our Fellowship Award – Doubling the amount from £10,000 to £20,000 – with Total Annual Grants of £115,000 – to Support Independent Artists in response to the Cost of Living Crisis.

The decision to raise the fellowship award amount underscores the foundation’s ongoing commitment to nurturing and supporting independent artists and creatives across the UK, providing them with the financial freedom to pursue their creative development and realise their artistic potential at a pivotal moment in their careers.

We have taken this important step to ensure our work continues to have the same life-changing impact and responds to inflation, the ongoing cost of living crisis and low artist income precarity experienced across the contemporary arts in the UK.

Our Director, Mary Jane Edwards said: 

“We are delighted to announce this critical development to double the Fellowship Award, as we recognise the growing financial pressures facing independent artists today. This increase is not only about providing more funding; it’s about affirming our belief in the transformative power of the arts and the critical role that artists and creatives play in society. The legacy of the foundation’s work is clear, with past fellows often going on to establish genre-defining practices that resonate for years to come – but as with all extraordinary artistic endeavours, this can only be achieved with tangible financial investment and the time and space to take risks, today.” 

Since its inception in 1993, the charity has offered financial support to a diverse range of artistic practitioners through its fellowship programme, the Arts Foundation Futures Awards, including those in disciplines that often lack support from traditional funding avenues. The increase in the fellowship award will see the foundation become one of the UK’s largest unconditional funders of individual artists, unique in its support across art forms – from Dance, Design, Film, Literature, Music, and Theatre to Visual Art.

Filmmaker Asif Kapadia who is an Ambassador and past Film Directing Fellow (2001) of the Arts Foundation said:

“I was fortunate enough to be awarded the Fellowship for Film Directing way back in 2001 when I had just directed my first feature film. The award had a real, profound impact on me. It gave me both security and confidence, but more critically, it gave me the opportunity to think, I wasn’t forced to find another project, I could take my time and work out what I truly wanted to do next, which I feel helped me form a career over the long term. This type of patient, no-strings-attached funding is so scarce in the UK, it’s really a miracle.  I particularly love the diverse range of creatives the Arts Foundation supports each year, this is what makes the Arts Foundation unique and special.  I feel this award is needed more than ever as the arts and artists are under attack, they need support. I’m really proud to be a past Fellow, and I think it’s fantastic to see the Art Foundation increase its award of independent artists in this vital way.”

Read the full Press Release online here.

For Media Enquiries: Dennis Chang, Bolton & Quinn: dennis@boltonquinn.com

For General Enquiries, Partnerships and Award Sponsorship opportunities please contact, Mary Jane Edwards: info@artsfoundation.co.uk

Bassist and composer Daniel Casimir (Jazz Composition Fellow, 2024) launches his third studio album, ‘Balance’, this July.

The album pays homage to the traditions of big band composition and historical significance whilst illustrating contemporary sensibilities, with Daniel’s signature combination of Classical, Jazz and cinematic sounds. Find out more about the album and order from Friday over on Bandcamp.

If you can’t wait, you can listen to BBC Radio 3’s ‘Daniel Casimir’s 4/4’, which features tracks from his upcoming album as well as Daniel discussing his inspirational tracks with Nubya Garcia.

We are thrilled to share that this year’s Regenerative Design Award creatives featured on BBC One Sunday Morning Live!⁠ ⁠

Rhea Thomas, William Eliot, and Emma Money will be sharing their innovative and progressive design practices with presenters Sean Fletcher and Holly Hamilton, including a live demonstration on the programme.

Catch us this Sunday 21 July from 10.30 am on BBC One or catch up on BBC iPlayer:

We’re delighted to share that Elissa Brunato’s (Materials Innovation Fellow, 2022) company, Radiant Matter has secured growth investment by joining the Sustainable Ventures portfolio.

“Sustainable Ventures is thrilled to announce our latest investment from our 6th Fund into Radiant Matter Ltd.

Radiant Matter is a new materials startup based in London developing high performance shimmer- and colour-effects from plant-based cellulose with applications across multi-billion dollar markets, including automotive, cosmetics, textiles, coatings and packaging.

Its technology leverages cellulose nanocrystals to create vibrant structural colours. Similar to the dazzling colours that are seen in nature, for example on peacock feathers, butterfly wings and beetles. Radiant Matter creates metallic-like glittering materials without the use of dyes, pigments, metals, minerals or plastics. Their technology will help manufacturers undertake the necessary transition away from microplastics and toxic colourants, which are being mandated by the evolving regulatory landscapes in the UK, EU and US.”

Read the full announcement over at www.sustainableventures.co.uk.

Want to join our team? We’re hiring a Project and Development Manager!

Please note the deadline for this role has now passed. Thank you to all those who expressed interest in our work and for making an application!

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This is a great opportunity to contribute to the development of the foundation and support artists and creatives in the UK.

The Project and Development Manager role will oversee the annual Arts Foundation Futures Awards Ceremony and assist the Director in delivering a successful Fellowship Programme. The Project and Development Manager will also play a key role in supporting the Director in expanding fundraising and development activities and producing a series of associated events in support of artists and our charitable aims and objectives.

Fixed-term contract: July 2024 – March 2026

Salary Range: £32,000 – 35,000 per annum, pro rata

Hours: 0.6FTE (3 days a week)

For full details and to apply, please view the role description.

Closing Date: 5 pm on Tuesday 11 June 2024

All applicants must have the right to work in the UK

The Arts Foundation is a registered charity that supports individual artists and creatives in the UK with unconditional financial fellowships of £10,000 through the Arts Foundation Futures Awards.

Since it was founded in 1993, the Arts Foundation has awarded over £2 million to the most promising artists in the UK at a pivotal moment in their careers to enable them to concentrate on their creative development, experiment, and realise their artistic potential.

Artists, jury members and supporters share their experience of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024!

The Award Ceremony was held in London on 28 February 2024. Find out more about the Arts Foundation and consider becoming a Friend or Patron to directly support the livelihoods and future generations of artists and creatives in what continues to be an incredibly precarious time for so many. All donations go straight to artists as part of our Arts Foundation Futures Awards Fellowship Scheme.

The esteemed British playwright Roy Williams’ welcome address at The Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 was such a vital and inspiring start to the awards.

We are honoured to share Roy’s words of encouragement and power with you.

The Award Ceremony was held in London on 28 February 2024.

Roy Williams began writing plays in 1990 and is now one of the country’s leading dramatists. In 2000 he was the joint-winner of The George Devine Award and in 2001 he was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. He was awarded the OBE for Services to Drama in the 2008 Birthday Honours List and was made a fellow of The Royal Society of Literature in 2018.

Roy Williams’ work in theatre includes Death of England, Death of England: Delroy, Death of England: Closing Time (all co-written with Clint Dyer), Baby Girl, Slow Time and Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads for the National Theatre; Sucker Punch (Olivier Award nomination for Best Play and joint winner of the Alfred Fagon Award), Fallout, Clubland and Lift Off at the Royal Court. Days of Significance for the RSC; Wildefire, Local Boy, The Firm and The Fellowship at Hampstead Theatre. Out West and Absolute Beginners at Lyric Hammersmith; The No-Boys Cricket Club and Kingston 14 at Stratford East; and Soul: The Untold Story of Marvin Gaye for Hackney Empire at the Royal & Derngate. 

His work for TV and film includes Death Of England: Face to Face (BAFTA nomination for Best single drama) Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle (BAFTA nominated for Best Short Form Programme), Fallout, Babyfather, Offside and Fast Girls.

Radio includes The Likes of Us, The Midwich Cuckoos (adaptation), Faith Hope & Glory, Bess Loves Porgy and eight series of The Interrogation.

Find out more about the Arts Foundation and consider becoming a Friend to directly support the livelihoods and future generations of artists and creatives in what continues to be an incredibly precarious time for so many. All donations go straight to artists as part of our Arts Foundation Futures Awards Fellowship Scheme.

Watch the moment the five £10,000 Fellowships for Jazz Composition, Regenerative Design, Short Documentary Film, Theatre Writing and Visual Art were announced, with all artists receiving £1,000 towards their practice.

With a special welcome address from the esteemed playwright, Roy Williams, the Award Ceremony took place on 28 February 2024 in London.

The ceremony shared the extraordinary and varied practices of the twenty Shortlisted Artists across this year’s categories. The recipients of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards were announced by trustee Virginia Hodge and jury members Soweto Kinch, Vicky Featherstone, Clare Sillery and Adelaide Bannerman.

The evening also included the premiere performance of a new choral composition by John Barber (Arts Foundation Choral Composition Fellow, 2021) with Echo Vocal Ensemble, conducted by Sarah Latto.

The awards mark over 30 years of the Arts Foundation’s support for independent artists in the UK since it was founded in 1993, and whose alumni include eminent artistic practitioners, such as Wayne McGregor CBE, Asif Kapadia, Ali Smith, Rufus Norris and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

Read more about all the artists and the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024

With thanks to our award supporters for their partnership and belief in the importance of artists and developing creative practice: The David Collins Foundation, PRS Foundation and the Yoma Sasburg Estate.⁠

The Arts Foundation Announce the winning Fellow of the 2024 Futures Awards

£65,000 prizes awarded at ceremony in London

The Arts Foundation announce the five recipients of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards £10,000 Fellowships as:

Jazz Composition: Daniel Casimir

Regenerative Design: Rhea Thomas

Short Documentary Film: Cherish Oteka

Theatre Writing:  Tatenda Shamiso

Visual Art:  Rebecca Bellantoni

The five winning Fellows were revealed at an Award Ceremony on 28 February 2024 at the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, featuring a special welcome address from British playwright, Roy Williams and the premiere performance of John Barber’s new choral composition, F*ck/Dystopian Loneliness with Echo Vocal Ensemble. 

The annual Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their career, providing £65,000 in unconditional grant funding, awarding five transformative £10,000 Fellowships, with all Shortlisted Artists receiving £1,000 towards the development of their practice.

Mary Jane Edwards, Director of The Arts Foundation said: 

“From blending jazz with classical music, making regenerative seed trays, to telling important stories about identity and place – the creative ingenuity, determination and focus of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards Fellows never ceases to amaze us. The UK is host so many extraordinary artistic practitioners, but as a result of over a decade of austerity measures, I think the arts and cultural sector is starting to ask itself important questions about how to best support independent artists and freelancers. We’re really proud to have been championing this area of work and supporting the livelihoods of creatives for over 30 years. We have no doubt all the artists and fellows will have a significant impact on our shared cultural life.”

Read the Press Release

Full Press Pack and Images

We are thrilled to share that the five Arts Foundation Futures Awards £10,000 Fellowships for Jazz Composition, Regenerative Design, Short Documentary Film, Theatre Writing and Visual Art will be announced by this year’s Jury members:

Soweto Kinch

Award winning alto-saxophonist and MC Soweto Kinch is one of the most exciting and versatile musicians in both the British jazz and hip hop scenes. Undoubtedly, one of the few artists in either genre with a degree in Modern History from University of Oxford, he has amassed an impressive list of accolades and awards on both sides of the Atlantic – including two MOBO Awards for Best Jazz Act (2003, 2007), and Mercury Prize Nomination for Album of the Year (2003). More recently, Kinch has extended his work in music media becoming the main presenter for BBC Radio 3’s Jazz Now, fronting BBC Four documentary Jazzology (2018), and being awarded an Honorary Associateship at Hertford College, University of Oxford (2018) and The Royal Academy of Music (2020).

Prof. Mirella Di Lorenzo

Mirella Di Lorenzo is currently the Associate Dean International for the Faculty of Engineering and Design at the University of Bath. Mirella’s interdisciplinary expertise lies at the interface of bioelectrochemistry, microengineering, microfluidics, sensing technology and material science. Her research addresses some of the world’s most pressing development challenges, such as the water-energy-food security and global health, by developing eco-friendly and sustainable solutions affordable to all.

Clare Sillery

Clare Sillery is the Head of Documentary Commissioning output for BBC One, Two, Three and iPlayer. Recent series include Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland, Parole, House of Maxwell and Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams. Single films include Our Falklands War and The Real Mo Farah.

Vicky Featherstone

Vicky Featherstone recently stepped down as the Artistic Director of the Royal Court Theatre. Her credits for the Royal Court include: Cuckoo, all of it (& Avignon Festival), Jews. In Their Own Words [co-director], The Glow, Maryland, Living Newspaper, Shoe Lady, On Bear Ridge (& National Theatre Wales) [co-director], Cyprus Avenue (& Abbey, Dublin/MAC, Belfast/Public, NYC), The Cane, Gundog, My Mum’s a Twat, Bad Roads, Victory Condition, X, How to Hold Your Breath, God Bless the Child, Maidan: Voices from the Uprising, The Mistress Contract, The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas; Untitled Matriarch Play, The President Has Come to See You (Open Court Weekly Rep).

Adelaide Bannerman

Adelaide Bannerman is a curator, and the curatorial director at Tiwani Contemporary, London and Lagos, who are focused on contemporary, international art from the African continent and its diaspora. Since 1998, she has largely worked with London and South-East England based arts organisations who work with international agendas, that have included: ICF International Curators Forum, Invisible Dust, Autograph, Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts), Tate, Live Art Development Agency (LADA), Platform London, Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Arts Council England, the African and Asian Visual Artists Archive and the 198 Gallery. She is also a trustee of PUBLICS, Helsinki, Finland and the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve, London.

The Awards Ceremony will take place at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre in London on Wednesday 28 February at 7.00 pm. Follow all the award announcements via Instagram Live!

The awards are generously supported in partnership with The David Collins Foundation, PRS Foundation and the Yoma Sasburg Estate.⁠

We are delighted to share that the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 Ceremony will also include the premiere performance of a new choral composition by John Barber (Choral Composition Fellow, 2021) with Echo Vocal Ensemble, conducted by Sarah Latto.

F*ck/Dystopian Loneliness is inspired by a poem taken from Inua Ellams’ collection The Actual. It chronicles a solitary walk through the city streets at night and moves in a few wonderful, fragmented sentences from a place of isolation to a place of love and connection. The piece will also be accompanied by a film by Fred Macgregor, featuring the performer, Jamal Sterrett. John said:

“As soon as I read the poem I wanted to set it to music and try to mirror this journey musically. My piece is essentially a long, solo melody that eventually finds its way to a resolution. To accompany the piece, together with filmmaker Fred Macgregor, we created a film and captured Jamal’s response to the piece as he danced around London’s streets listening to the piece on his headphones.”

The Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday 28 February at the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre.

Watch the performance and follow all the award announcements via Instagram Live on the night from 7 pm!⁠

John Barber

John Barber is a composer from Bristol with a passion for voices, collaboration and storytelling. 

His versatile, rhythmic and intensely dramatic music has been performed by some of the UK and Europe’s leading opera houses, theatres, ensembles and choirs including the Royal Opera House, Gothenburg Opera, BBC Symphony Orchestra and The Sixteen.

He has written several operas and large-scale vocal pieces which often bring professional and non-professional musicians of all ages together. Notable pieces include We Are Shadows (Spitalfields Music), Consider the Lilies – based on the stories of refugees in the UK and Seven Seeds – a major retelling of the persephone myth featuring 1500 singers, Aurora Orchestra and soloists.

John’s music has been recognised with various awards including an Ivor Novello Classical award and two Royal Philharmonic Society awards. Recent projects include The Selfish Giant for Garsington Opera and Opera North, The Song of the Ladder – a major new community opera for the Camerata Stumentale, Italy and Our Dark Side And The Moon – an audio opera for the Royal Opera House’s 8bit digital project.

In 2021 John was awarded the Arts Foundation Fellowship for Choral Composition. This award enabled a new recording featuring members of Echo choir, which will be released later this year.

Echo Vocal Ensemble

Conductor – Sarah Latto

Described as “sparkling, poised and powerful” (The Arts Desk), Echo Vocal Ensemble is a dynamic group of singers known for their flexibility, innovation and excellence. Since their debut in 2017, the group has performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, as Ensemble-in-Residence at Ryedale Festival and live on BBC Radio 3.

The group has quickly developed a reputation for innovative programming and multi-disciplinary collaborations, including with poet Roger McGough, composer James MacMillan, visual artist Polly Apfelbaum and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Echo aims to explore the full range of what ensemble singing can achieve, including improvisation and audience-immersive concert experiences, whilst achieving musical excellence at all times.

Recent projects include a collaboration at Sadler’s Wells with choreographer Gregory Maqoma, and an audio installation at Frieze Sculpture in London. 2024 sees the release of Echo’s debut album, Innocence, with a launch concert at the Wigmore Hall in July.

The group has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with composer John Barber and are delighted to be premiering his music at the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024.

The Arts Foundation will announce the five recipients of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards £10,000 Fellowships in London on 28 February 2024.

The annual Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their career, providing £65,000 in unconditional grant funding, awarding five transformative £10,000 Fellowships, with all Shortlisted Artists receiving £1,000 towards the development of their practice.⁠

The awards mark over 30 years of the Arts Foundation’s support for independent artists in the UK since it was founded in 1993, and whose alumni include eminent artistic practitioners, such as Wayne McGregor CBE, Ali Smith, Asif Kapadia, Carol Morley, Rufus Norris and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

Featuring a special welcome address from the esteemed British playwright, Roy Williams, the Award Ceremony will take place on Wednesday 28 February at the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre in London.

The ceremony will also include the premiere performance of a new choral composition by past Arts Foundation Fellow, John Barber (Choral Composition, 2021) with Echo Choir, conducted by Sarah Latto.

The ceremony will share the extraordinary and varied practices of the twenty Shortlisted Artists across this year’s categories of Jazz Composition, Regenerative Design, Short Documentary Film, Theatre Writing and Visual Art. 

You can explore the work of all the Shortlisted Artists on the Arts Foundation website and watch the award announcements via Instagram Live on Wednesday 28 February 2024, from 7.00 pm.

Read the Award Ceremony Press Release

We are thrilled to share that esteemed playwright, Roy Williams will be our Guest of Honour at the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 Ceremony! Roy will give a special welcome address before we announce the five recipients of the £10,000 Fellowships!⁠
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Roy Williams began writing plays in 1990 and is now one of the country’s leading dramatists. In 2000 he was the joint-winner of The George Devine Award and in 2001 he was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. He was awarded the OBE for Services to Drama in the 2008 Birthday Honours List and was made a fellow of The Royal Society of Literature in 2018.⁠
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Roy Williams’ work in theatre includes Death of England, Death of England: Delroy, Death of England: Closing Time (all co-written with Clint Dyer), Baby Girl, Slow Time and Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads for the National Theatre; Sucker Punch (Olivier Award nomination for Best Play and joint winner of the Alfred Fagon Award), Fallout, Clubland and Lift Off at the Royal Court. Days of Significance for the RSC; Wildefire, Local Boy, The Firm and The Fellowship at Hampstead Theatre. Out West and Absolute Beginners at Lyric Hammersmith; The No-Boys Cricket Club and Kingston 14 at Stratford East; and Soul: The Untold Story of Marvin Gaye for Hackney Empire at the Royal & Derngate. ⁠
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His work for TV and film includes Death Of England: Face to Face (BAFTA nomination for Best single drama) Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle (BAFTA nominated for Best Short Form Programme), Fallout, Babyfather, Offside and Fast Girls. Radio includes The Likes of Us, The Midwich Cuckoos (adaptation), Faith Hope & Glory, Bess Loves Porgy and eight series of The Interrogation.⁠
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We are so honoured to welcome Roy!
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The Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday 28 February at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre in London. Watch the welcome address and follow all the award announcements via Instagram Live on the night from 7 pm!⁠
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Join us for a special screening and Q&A with the extraordinary shortlisted filmmakers of The Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 for Short Documentary Film!

Book your tickets today via the ICA

Tuesday 23 January 2024

6.30 pm at the ICA, London

Featuring the shortlisted artists for the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 for Short Documentary Film:

Puffling by Jessica Bishopp

A coming-of-age documentary about growing up and making choices, Puffling explores the delicate interplay between wildlife, the environment, and human life.⁠

Heart Eyes and a World by Rosie Morris

Heart Eyes and a World brings the viewer into the bedrooms of four 15 year old girls with a behind the scenes view of the selfie, and raises questions about the normalisation of self-objectification. ⁠

The Black Cop by Cherish Oteka

An intimate portrait of Gamal ‘G’ Turawa, an ex-Metropolitan police officer, who explores his memories of racially profiling and harassing black people and homophobia in his early career.

The Boxing Bishop by Kateryna Pavlyuk

When youth violence in the North London town of Edmonton escalated to a fatality a month, a local Archbishop made the bold suggestion that young people in the area throw more punches.

These powerful new contemporary filmmakers will present four compelling short films, and discuss their work in conversation. The shortlist was selected by expert industry figures: Louisa Dent, Managing Director, Curzon; Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning BBC, Documentaries and Raul Niño Zambrano – Artistic Director, Sheffield Doc Fest who said:

“The four shortlisted filmmakers for the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 demonstrate the great range and breadth of short documentary filmmaking practice in the UK. It’s been a real pleasure and privilege to watch their respective work and highly original ways of thinking about documentary form and storytelling; from our relationship with nature, to centring under-represented communities, telling local and global histories of migration and displacement, to highly personal stories of intimacy and emotion.” 

Presented in partnership with the London Short Film Festival. Don’t miss it!

The twenty artists shortlisted for the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 have been announced across five award categories: Jazz Composition, Regenerative Design, Short Documentary Film, Theatre Writing and Visual Art.

The annual Arts Foundation Futures Awards identify, support and celebrate the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their career, providing £65,000 in unconditional grant funding, awarding five transformative £10,000 Fellowships, with all Shortlisted Artists receiving £1,000 towards the development of their practice.⁠

The awards mark over three decades of the Arts Foundation’s support for independent artists in the UK since it was founded in 1993, and whose alumni include eminent artistic practitioners, such as Wayne McGregor, Asif Kapadia, Ali Smith, Rufus Norris, Carol Morley and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

The five winning Fellows receiving £10,000, will be revealed at an Award Ceremony on 28 February 2024 in London at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre. Mary Jane Edwards, Director of the Arts Foundation said:

“The dynamic spirit and breadth of contemporary creative practice showcased by the artists shortlisted for the 2024 Arts Foundation Futures Awards is hugely inspiring. In the face of persistent challenges confronting the UK’s cultural sector, there is an urgent need to deliver no strings attached financial backing to artists, empowering them to not only persevere but to flourish in their creative pursuits. The work of the Arts Foundation in recognising and supporting the livelihoods of independent artists feels more vital than ever.”

You can explore the Shortlisted Artists’ work on the Arts Foundation website and watch the Award Ceremony announcements via Instagram Live on the night.

Read the Press Release here

The full Press Pack and Artist Images can be viewed online

The Visual Art award supports artists working across a broad range of visual arts and interdisciplinary art form practices, including, painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture and artist moving image. Meet the shortlist:

Rebecca Bellantoni

Rebecca Bellantoni is a London-based artist. She works across moving image, installation, performance, photography, textiles, printmaking, sculpture, sound-text, and ceramics. 

Dan Guthrie

Dan Guthrie is an artist who often works with moving image. Recent presentations of his work include Devonshire Collective, Prismatic Ground, Berlinale Forum Expanded and LUX.

Alexi Marshall

Alexi Marshall is a Hastings-based artist who graduated from the Slade School of Art in 2018. She works in print, mosaic and embroidery investigating themes of womanhood, folklore and regeneration. 

Rafał Zajko

Rafał Zajko is a Polish artist whose work deals with issues around industrialisation and technological progress in relation to working-class heritage and queer identities. 

With thanks to our independent Jury members: Maria Fusco, Writer and Professor of Interdisciplinary Writing, University of Dundee; Zadie Xa, Artist; and Adelaide Bannerman, Curatorial Director of Tiwani Contemporary who said:

“We feel that each of the shortlisted artists has the potential to make a major contribution to contemporary artistic practice, and are all furthering important questions about identity, place and belonging in our shared world. It’s not an easy time to be a visual artist in the UK, which makes the artists’ compelling interdisciplinary work all the more admirable.”

The Arts Foundation has a long history of supporting visual art, and Mary Jane Edwards, Director of The Arts Foundation said:

“The four shortlisted artists’ are a testament to the strength of visual arts practice in the UK. Each artist is pursuing incredibly, personal, sensitive and original ways of thinking and making work that resonates deeply with a wider public, we are delighted to be supporting their artistic development at a critical moment in their career trajectory.”

The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their careers to enable them to concentrate on their creative development, experiment, and realise their artistic potential. The recipient of the £10,000 Fellowship will be revealed on 28 February 2024, with all artists receiving £1,000 towards their practice.

The Visual Art Award is supported by the Yoma Sasburg Estate.

The Theatre Writing award champions theatre writers focusing on new contemporary writing, including original works and theatrical or performative adaptations of fiction and non-fiction. Meet the shortlist:

Safaa Benson-Effiom

Safaa is a playwright and theatre-maker. Her debut play ‘Til Death Do Us Part’ premiered at Theatre503 won the ‘Best Production – Premiere’ at the London Pub Theatre Awards in 2022.

Laurie Motherwell

Laurie Motherwell is a Glaswegian playwright. His recent play Sean and Daro Flake it ’Til They Make It premiered at the Traverse Theatre in April 2023 and went on to tour at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

Tatenda Shamiso

Tatenda Shamiso is a London-based writer, director, theatre-maker and musician. Tatenda’s play ‘NO I.D.; was recently performed at the Royal Court Theatre.

Yomi Ṣode

Yomi Ṣode is a writer and playwright. His debut collection of story and poetry, Manorism, was for the stage and presented at the Southbank Centre in 2022 and shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize 2023.

With thanks to our independent Jury members Alice Birch, Playwright and Screenwriter and past Arts Foundation Fellow for Playwriting, 2014; Vicky Featherstone, Artistic Director, Royal Court Theatre; and Dzifa Benson, Arts Journalist, Dramatist who said:

“It was such a pleasure to take part in this year’s jury for Theatre Writing. I was so impressed with the extraordinary talent, creativity, ambition and dedication to their craft of all the artists. Laurie Motherwell’s complex narratives bring fresh perspectives to Scottish stories while Safaa Benson-Effiom’s sheer determination to tell compelling theatrical stories jumped off the page, the scope of Tatenda Shamiso’s intimate storytelling is deeply affecting and Yomi Ṣode’s dramas channel the voices of characters seldom heard on our stages. It is such an honour to support these artists who continue striving to make stellar work despite these financial precarious times. I can’t wait to see how all four artists progress in their careers.”

Vicky Featherstone added:

“It was an absolute privilege and a treat to be immersed in the work, thoughts and passions of all the candidates. They all displayed such integrity and clarity of purpose for their work and its impact and left me feeling hopeful for all they will achieve

The Arts Foundation has a long history of supporting theatre practices, playwriting and literature and Mary Jane Edwards, Director of The Arts Foundation says:

“The four artists’ work demonstrates the great range and breadth of contemporary theatre writing practice. Each of the shortlists has pursued highly individual and unique ways of thinking and approaching the genre of playwriting, and we are delighted to be supporting their creative development.”

The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their careers to enable them to concentrate on their creative development, experiment, and realise their artistic potential. The recipient of the £10,000 Fellowship will be revealed on 28 February 2024, with all artists receiving £1,000 towards their practice.

The Short Documentary Film award supports nonfiction filmmakers working in cinematic short documentary film, focusing on independent and inventive storytellers exploring contemporary thematics that shape national conversation and inform our shared cultural identity. Meet the shortlist:

Jessica Bishopp

Jessica is a director and documentary filmmaker fascinated by subcultures, myth and our connection to place.

Rosie Morris 

Rosie is a filmmaker who invites audiences to walk alongside the people in her films and to meet them at eye level.

Cherish Oteka

Cherish is a documentary filmmaker who is passionate about telling universal stories through the lens of often erased communities.

Kateryna Pavlyuk

Kateryna Pavlyuk is a documentary filmmaker fascinated by people and their relationships to places, her films centre on migration, displacement, community, and the cross-pollination of cultures.

With thanks to our independent Jury members Louisa Dent, Managing Director, Curzon; Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning BBC, Documentaries; and Raul Niño Zambrano, Artistic Director, Sheffield Doc Fest who said:

“The four shortlisted filmmakers demonstrate the great range and breadth of short documentary filmmaking practice in the UK. Cherish Oteka, Jessica Bishopp, Kateryna Pavlyuk and Rosie Morris are all exploring very important questions about identity and belonging in contemporary society. It’s been a real pleasure and privilege to watch their respective work and highly original ways of thinking about documentary form and storytelling; from our relationship with nature, to centring under-represented communities, telling local and global histories of migration and displacement, to highly personal stories of intimacy and emotion. Being part of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards has been a hugely hopeful and energising experience.”

The Arts Foundation has a long history of supporting film, moving image and new media, with notable past fellows such as Carol Morley and Asif Kapadia. Mary Jane Edwards, Director of The Arts Foundation says:

““We are delighted to be supporting this important award, while the UK is fortunate to host many brilliant film festivals, financing and production support for risk-taking non fiction-films remains low. Sustaining a documentary filmmaking practice is particularly challenging, as sector research shows UK film funds ring-fenced for documentaries are sadly among the lowest in Europe. We were very moved by the beauty and depth of work of the four shortlisted filmmakers, all of whom move beyond aesthetics to pose important questions about place, community and identity in contemporary society.”

The Short Documentary Fim award is supported in partnership with The David Collins Foundation and Iain Watson, Chief Executive Officer, David Collins Studio, and Trustee of The David Collins Foundation said: 

“The David Collins Foundation are thrilled to support the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 for Short Documentary Film. David Collins supported artists and makers across all mediums throughout his life, and I know he would be really inspired by the breadth of stories these filmmakers are bringing to the fore. All the shortlisted artists demonstrate such a diverse range of approaches to storytelling, and we look forward to supporting the development of their filmmaking craft at this timely moment in their career.”

The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their careers to enable them to concentrate on their creative development, experiment, and realise their artistic potential. The recipient of the £10,000 Fellowship will be revealed on 28 February 2024, with all artists receiving £1,000 towards their practice.

The Regenerative Design Award champions contemporary design practices, which restore, renew or revitalise the environment. The award aims to support a broad range of mediums, including craft, product, material, and or service design and architectural practices that aim to give back more to the environment than they take. Meet the shortlist:

William Eliot

William is a designer and artist whose practice merges the realms of art, science, and nature.

Aurélie Fontan

Aurélie is a bio designer and entrepreneur working in the fields of fashion and product design with symbiotic and regenerative principles. 

Emma Money

Emma is an interdisciplinary designer, research artist, and co-founder of Cyanoskin: a novel photosynthetic paint company helping to combat the climate crisis. 

Rhea Thomas

Rhea is a transdisciplinary designer and climate innovator, and passionate about merging design, technology, and behavioural sciences.

With thanks to our independent Jury Prof. Alex de Rijke, founding Director of dRMM and Broadcaster; Prof. Mirella Di Lorenzo, Professor of Biochemical Engineering and Associate Dean International for the Faculty of Engineering and Design, Bath University; and Sarah Ichioka, Urbanist, strategist, curator and writer, who said: 

“All the designers demonstrated creativity and commitment to their respective research and development processes. It’s often challenging to sustain a practice in this emerging field, where access to facilities, materials and technical support can be limited, so as a jury, we were impressed that all the shortlisted designers had managed to test and iterate their work in real-world scenarios.”

The Arts Foundation has a long history of supporting progressive and imaginative design practices having launched an award for Material Innovation a decade ago in 2014. Mary Jane Edwards, Director of The Arts Foundation says:

“We are thrilled to continue our support of forward-looking designers and creative practitioners. We are always greatly encouraged by the ingenuity and collaborative practices of all four designers working with materials and design approaches that are regenerative, with the emergent capacity to restore, renew or revitalise the environment. We have no doubt their respective work will have a significant impact, not only from a design-research perspective but also in moving the dial on complex, long-term environmental change. As the global climate crisis deepens, we are proud to have been an early advocate of innovation in material and social design, and to have supported a formidable body of thinking and work in this space.”

The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their careers to enable them to concentrate on their creative development, experiment, and realise their artistic potential. The recipient of the £10,000 Fellowship will be revealed on 28 February 2024, with all artists receiving £1,000 towards their practice.

The Jazz Composition Award supports independent musicians and composers who are expanding the medium of jazz composition and developing original works. Meet the shortlist:

Romarna Campbell

Romarna is a drummer, producer and composer of jazz and hip-hop-infused music. 

Daniel Casimir

Daniel is a composer, producer and bassist, and released his debut album “Boxed In” in 2021. 

Jas Kayser

Jas Kayser is a drummer, composer and band leader, and released her debut album “Jas 5ive“ in 2022. 

Luca Manning

Luca Manning is a contemporary music artist and was a resident artist at London’s iconic Roundhouse in 2022/23.

With thanks to our independent Jury members Gilles Peterson, DJ, Broadcaster, and founder of Brownswood Recordings; Sheila Maurice-Grey, Musician and band leader of Kokoroko; and Soweto Kinch, Saxophonist, composer, poet, MC, and producer, who said:

“It was a great joy to listen to such diverse and virtuosic submissions for this award: providing a glimpse into how diverse and vibrant the UK jazz scene currently is. All of the shortlisted artists brought personality, skill and an exciting sense of vision to their work; it’s exceptional to see such creative, distinctive and original approaches to the same idiom. Romarna Campbell has a flare for composition, great musicianship and a distinctive vision for how to build a collective of like-minds. Daniel Casimir has a unique compositional approach, blending new pathways between Jazz and classical music. Jas Kayser virtuosic playing and energy is guaranteed to make her a generational voice for UK jazz. Luca Manning’s music and message is arresting and original – his voice as an instrument is both enchanting and fresh. I can’t wait to see what each of these artists go on to create in the near future.”

The Arts Foundation has a long history of music artists, with recent past fellows such as Sam Lee, Love Ssega and Iceboy Violet. Mary Jane Edwards, Director of The Arts Foundation says:

“We’re hugely excited to resource the incredible shortlisted artists and the growing momentum in jazz composition working in partnership with PRS Foundation. Jazz is still often under-supported by mainstream funds and the commercial music industry, so we’re pleased to spotlight the highly collaborative and boundary-pushing practices of the next generation of jazz music artists.”

The Jazz Composition Award is supported in partnership with PRS Foundation and Joe Frankland CEO of PRS Foundation said:

“We’re delighted to support this timely Jazz Composition Award in partnership with the Arts Foundation. The shortlisted musicians are a testament to the breadth and vibrancy of the UK Jazz scene at the moment, all of whom are pursuing new sounds and blending genres in such an energetic and inspiring way. We’re very much looking forward to the awards ceremony in February and seeing the long-term impact of the fellowship and bursaries on the shortlisted music creators’ careers.”

The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a pivotal moment in their careers to enable them to concentrate on their creative development, experiment, and realise their artistic potential. The recipient of the £10,000 Fellowship will be revealed on 28 February 2024, with all artists receiving £1,000 towards their practice.