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. ⁠
⁠
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.

As 2023 comes to a close, we’re looking back on another wonderful year supporting and championing independent artists and creatives!

In January we announced the incredible Shortlisted Artists for the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2023, across the fields of Bio Design, Dance Theatre, Digital Art, Electronic Music and Place Writing.

In February the winning Fellows receiving £10,000 were announced at a live Award Ceremony in partnership with Leeds 2023, and the Howard Assembly Room, Opera North, with all shortlisted artists awarded £1,000. 

We were thrilled to host the esteemed jury members to present the awards: Sarah Wigglesworth, Toni Racklin, Antonio Roberts, Fink, Nemone Metaxas, and Eric Ngalle Charles.

We welcomed Claudette Johnson as our guest of honour. Claudette’s beautiful welcome address and the ceremony were live-streamed via IG and are archived on our website to watch. 

In Spring and throughout the year we continued to champion and promote the work of all our past Fellows and artists on our socials channels: Instagram, X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.

In June we started to grow a new community of Friends and Patrons to support our work, hosting our first-ever Patrons dinner, an inspiring gathering of like-minded individuals and conversation about the importance of art and creative practice.

Late September saw our first-ever Fundraising Dinner & Auction at Toklas Restaurant! 16 phenomenal artists and organisations donated 18 extraordinary artworks, which all found wonderful and generous new homes. 

In October we shared news of the award categories for the upcoming Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 and partnership collaborations with the brilliant PRS Foundation, The David Collins Foundation, and Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking.

In November we announced the phenomenal jury members for the awards, take a look back at our news posts to find out more: Jazz Composition; Regenerative Design; Short Documentary Film; Theatre Writing; and Visual Art.

The beginnings of 2024 are looking bright too with the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 Shortlist Artist Announcement in the New Year, a film screening at the ICA later in January and our Awards Ceremony in February! 

Enormous thanks to everyone who has supported The Arts Foundation this year, we are hugely grateful for your time, generosity and care.

Wishing you all a restorative festive period!

Join us for a special screening featuring the extraordinary shortlisted filmmakers of The Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 for Short Documentary Film.

6.30 pm, Tuesday 23 January 2024

ICA, London

Book your tickets on the ICA website

These powerful new contemporary filmmakers will present four compelling short films, and discuss their work in conversation with a special guest TBA.

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.” 

Artists to be announced in January 2024!

Presented as part of London Short Film Festival.

As the year draws to a close we’re celebrating the achievements of 2023 Arts Foundation Fellows:

Louise Lenborg Skajem (Bio Design Fellow, 2023) won the Design and Art Direction Pencil Award for Future Impact and an Innovate UK grant. Resting Reef went on display at the 2023 London Design Biennale’s Dubai Pavilion and Dutch Design Week. They were also selected to be part of the Better Futures programme in partnership with The Mayor of London, Imperial College and ICA Hackspace. Read about Resting Reef’s presentation at Dutch Design Week in Dezeen.

Akeim Toussaint Buck (Dance Theatre Fellow, 2023) previewed new works ⁠Negus Genesis at Stage at Leeds, and Okan at The Place, London, following a residency at Yorkshire Dance Pictures with support from ACE. He also performed Souls & Cells at The Place with Crystal Zillwood. His acclaimed performance Windows of Displacement was selected for Sharjah Art Biennale, and the BBC featured him on  BBC Dance Passion Liverpool. Akeim has toured screenings of his films Displaced (2022) and brand new release Reckoning (2023), both created in collaboration with Ashley Karrell. He was invited to join Rotation Dance Exchange as a judge, and shared his Beatmotion Practice at the Northern School on the MA in Interdisciplinary Practice. Akeim also performed at our Arts Foundation Fundraising Dinner & Auction!

Emily Mulenga (Digital Art Fellow, 2023) exhibited her solo exhibit Fantasy Star Online at Southbank Centre’s billboard space, as well as in group exhibitions Player Piano at The Art Station, Suffolk, NAE Open 2023 at New Art Exchange, Nottingham, Portal Park at MAMA Rotterdam, ACall Arts Festival and and Eyes on the Horizon – Perspectival Shifts at BUoY Arts Center Tokyo.

Iceboy Violet (Electronic Music Fellow, 2023) released their acclaimed album Not a Dream But a Controlled Explosion on Fixed Abode, EP Drown 2 Float, and fundraising compilation From Manchester to Palestine: A Compilation of Music & Poetry. Their tracks Don’t Last Forever (chynna) and Black Gold with Florence Sinclair were featured on Mary Anne Hobbs’ BBC 6Music New Music Fix list. Violet was commissioned by Mark Leckey to create new work for In The Offing at Turner Contemporary, and went on tour to Estonia, France, Austria, Portugal, Germany, Finland, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, China and the UK. Reviews of their work have appeared in The Quietus⁠, Pitchfork⁠, Dazed, Resident Advisor, Clash, Loud and Quiet, DJ Magazine and The Fader. Listen to their work on Bandcamp.

Gaia Holmes (Place Writing Fellow, 2023) has been working on her new book, He Used to Do Dangerous Things, which will be published by Comma Press in April 2024. Alongside this, she has spoken at libraries nationwide, and published short story Unloved Flowers, in The Cuckoo Cage- New Origin Stories, an anthology published by Comma Press. Unloved Flowers is a story about resilience, bats, homelessness, justice and beautiful weeds. Listen to a recording on Gaia’s Soundcloud, as well as short story Below The Thunders Of The Upper Deep.

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 2024 for Visual Art Jury Members are:

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: International Curators Forum, Invisible Dust, Autograph, Iniva, Tate, Live Art Development Agency, Platform London, Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Arts Council England, the African and Asian Visual Artists Archive and the 198 Gallery. She is a trustee of PUBLICS, Helsinki, Finland and the Bethnal Green Nature Reserve, London.

Maria Fusco

Maria Fusco is a working class writer. Her work spans the registers of critical, performance and theoretical writing, most recent pieces are the experimental opera-film, History of the Present, co-made by Margaret Salmon and Who does not envy with us is against us, a book of essays about class. She is Professor of Interdisciplinary Writing at the University of Dundee.

Zadie Xa 

Zadie Xa is an artist who has developed an expansive practice that addresses the nature of diasporic identities, global histories, familial legacies and interspecies communication. She explores these themes through immersive installations that appeal to the sensory experience of the viewer, often incorporating painting, sculpture, textile, sound and performance elements. Born in Vancouver, Canada and now based in London, Xa draws upon her Korean heritage as she seeks to elevate narratives that have been erased or repressed by the West and occupying powers. For her, art offers a means to analyse socio-political conditions and cultural behaviours through a lens of masquerade, play, costuming and storytelling. Embracing a highly collaborative mode of working, she has developed ongoing exchanges with dancers and musicians, and has worked closely with the artist Benito Mayor Vallejo since 2006.

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The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a breakthrough moment in their careers with £10,000 unconditional Fellowships.

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

The Visual Art category Shortlist will be revealed in January 2024, and the winning Fellow receiving £10,000 will be announced  at a live Award Ceremony in February 2024, with all shortlisted artists awarded £1,000.

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook 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 2024 for Jazz Composition Jury Members are:

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 Oxford University, 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 Honorary Associateship at  Hertford College, Oxford (2018) and The Royal Academy of Music (2020).  

Sheila Maurice-Grey

Sheila is a London based trumpet and flugelhorn player who leads renowned band Kokoroko and has featured on several projects such as Sampha, Little Simz, Yussef Dayes, Stormzy and others.

Sheila is also a visual artist and loves to paint. Her painting plays an important and central role in her solo music project where she aims to explore her musical voice as well as through her paintings provocatively question the of hyper sexualisation of black women throughout history.

Gilles Peterson

Gilles Peterson is a broadcaster, DJ and record collector who hosts a weekly Saturday afternoon show on BBC Radio 6 Music that’s one of the broadcaster’s most popular music shows, helms independent record label Brownswood Recordings, and is the founder of online radio station Worldwide FM. Gilles also hosts the Worldwide FM radio station on the GTA V computer game.

Throughout his career, Peterson has promoted the new frontiers of jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music. Starting by installing illicit transmitters and hosting shows for pirate radio station Radio Invicta, he later joined the newly-founded Jazz FM and, after that, joined the pirate-turned-legal station Kiss FM. In 1998, he was hired by BBC Radio 1, where he hosted a weekly show until his move to his current slot on BBC Radio 6 Music.

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The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a breakthrough moment in their careers with £10,000 unconditional Fellowships.

The Jazz Composition category Shortlist will be revealed  in January 2024, and the winning Fellow receiving £10,000 will be announced  at a live Award Ceremony in February 2024, with all shortlisted artists awarded £1,000.

The Jazz Composition Award is supported in partnership with the PRS Foundation

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook 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 2024 for Short Documentary Film Jury Members are:

Louisa Dent

Louisa Dent joined Curzon Artificial Eye in 2008 as Managing Director, overseeing the acquisition and release of titles including THE CLASS, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, STILL ALICE, FISH TANK, 45 YEARS, AMOUR, THE HANDMAIDEN, COLD WAR, PARASITE and TRIANGLE OF SADNESS. 

Raul Niño Zambrano

Raul Niño Zambrano has been the Creative Director of Sheffield Documentary Festival since 2023, a role that has been granted after successfully delivering the 29th edition as the Head of Film Programmes in June 2022. He was previously a Senior Programmer at IDFA (International Documentary Film festival Amsterdam) where he started as a programmer in 2008. During his thirteen years at IDFA, Raul conducted a ground-breaking study on the position of women within the documentary world (The Female Gaze, 2014) and initiated the IDFA Queer Day (2013, ongoing).

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.

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TheArts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a breakthrough moment in their careers with £10,000 unconditional Fellowships.

The Short Documentary Film category is supported by in partnership with The David Collins Foundation.

The Short Documentary Film category Shortlist will be revealed  in January 2024, and the winning Fellow receiving £10,000 will be announced  at a live Award Ceremony in February 2024, with all shortlisted artists awarded £1,000.

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook 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 2024 for Theatre Writing Jury Members are:

Dzifa Benson

Dzifa Benson is an award-winning, multidisciplinary artist whose arts journalism covering theatre, fiction, non-fiction, music and poetry appears in the Telegraph, the Financial Times, the Times Literary Supplement and the Guardian. She was an editor-in-residence at Granta and is a poetry editor/reader at Curtis Brown Creative. Dzifa studied dramaturgy with acclaimed US dramaturg Mark Bly’s on his Dramaturgy Intensive Workshop at the the John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington DC and has a Masters degree in Text & Performance from RADA and Birkbeck, University of London.

Alice Birch

Alice is a playwright and screenwriter. Theatre includes THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA (National Theatre); [BLANK] (Clean Break / Donmar Warehouse); ANATOMY OF A SUICIDE (Royal Court Theatre, winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Award) and REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN. (RSC / Soho Rep, co-winner of the George Devine Award). Film includes THE END WE START FROM (BBC Films / Sunnymarch / Hera Pictures); THE WONDER (Netflix / Element / House); MOTHERING SUNDAY (Film 4 / Number 9 Films) and LADY MACBETH (BFI Films / BBC Film, winner of Best Screenplay BIFA and . TV includes DEAD RINGERS (Amazon / Annapurna); NORMAL PEOPLE (BBC / Element / Hulu); CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS (BBC / Element / Hulu) and SUCCESSION (HBO). Alice was the winning Fellow of the Arts Foundation Awards 2014 for Playwriting.

Vicky Featherstone

Vicky Featherstone is the Artistic Director of the Royal Court. 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).

Vicky was also Artistic Director of Paines Plough 1997-2005 and the inaugural Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Scotland 2005-2012.

…

The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a breakthrough moment in their careers with £10,000 unconditional Fellowships.

The Theatre Writing category Shortlist will be announced in January 2024, and the winning Fellow receiving £10,000 unveiled at a live Award Ceremony in February 2024, with all shortlisted artists receiving £1,000.

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook 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 2024 for Regenerative Design Jury Members are:

Sarah Ichioka 

Sarah Mineko Ichioka is an urbanist, strategist, curator and writer. She leads Desire Lines, a strategic consultancy for environmental, cultural, and social-impact initiatives and organizations. Her latest book, Flourish: Design Paradigms for Our Planetary Emergency, co-authored with Michael Pawlyn, proposes a bold set of regenerative design principles for addressing our compound environmental and social crises. 

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.

Alex de Rijke

Alex de Rijke is a founding Director of dRMM, having established the practice in 1995 with Philip Marsh and Sadie Morgan. He is a design champion at dRMM, responsible for the concept, construction and delivery of our timber projects. These include Sliding House, Kingsdale School, Charlton WorkStack, Tower of Love, Endless Stair, WoodBlock House, Maggie’s Oldham, and the Stirling Prize-winning Hastings Pier.

…

The Arts Foundation Futures Awards support the UK’s most promising artists and creatives at a breakthrough moment in their careers with £10,000 unconditional Fellowships.

The Regenerative Design category Shortlist will be revealed  in January 2024, and the winning Fellow receiving £10,000 announced at a live Award Ceremony in February 2024, with all shortlisted artists receiving £1,000.

Follow the Arts Foundation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook 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

We are delighted to announce a new partnership between The Arts Foundation and Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking! 

The partnership will support a unique residency in the Gloucestershire countryside for all 20 Shortlisted Artists as part of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024!

This five-day self-guided residency will provide the UK’s most promising artists and creatives with a tranquil space for reflection and experimentation in Spring 2024.

The Arts Foundation’s long history of supporting and nurturing artistic talent, combined with Hawkwood Centre’s dedication to envisioning a more sustainable and compassionate future, creates a perfect synergy for artists to explore new dimensions of expression and reflection. We look forward to witnessing the no doubt, extraordinary seeds of ideas and projects that will emerge from this collaboration. 

Mary Jane Edwards, Director of The Arts Foundation said:

“The Arts Foundation has always strived to give time and space to artists to develop their practice, and the partnership with Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking presents us with such a wonderful opportunity to extend this endeavour. It’s really important to us that we work with partners who share our fundamental belief in the importance of artists, and that any opportunities developed are artist-centred, and Hawkwood’s nurturing and progressive approach aligns perfectly. We much look forward to visiting the artists in such beautifully verdant and restorative surroundings!”

Alicia Carey, CEO of Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking said:

“We are thrilled to partner with the Arts Foundation, which is renowned for its support of emerging talent. It’s absolutely vital that artists are supported to carve out dedicated time for creative exploration, and we hope they draw much inspiration for their artistic endeavours from the backdrop of Hawkwood estate.”

About Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking 

Hawkwood Centre for Future Thinking is set in a beautiful, sustainably run estate. As a charity, it brings together people and organisations from many backgrounds in support of creative endeavour, a flourishing community and a sustainable environment. Hawkwood aims to encourage people to make a considered difference to today’s society and to our future, and our place provides an ethical, peaceful and inspirational environment to enable individuals and organisations to grow and develop. 

About The Arts Foundation 

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 £1.8 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. 

The Arts Foundation is delighted to announce the fifth award category of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 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, and is supported by The Yoma Sasburg Estate.

The recipient of the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 for Visual Art receives a £10,000 Fellowship, and 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, Facebook 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 and PRS Foundation are delighted to announce a new partnership to support the Arts Foundation Futures Awards 2024 for Jazz Composition. 

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

The annual Arts Foundation Futures Awards support 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.

The shortlisted artists for the Jazz Composition Award will be announced in January 2024. The recipient of the award receives a transformative £10,000 Fellowship and will be revealed at a live awards ceremony in late February 2024, with all shortlisted artists awarded £1,000 towards the development of their practice.  

Joe Frankland CEO of PRS Foundation said:

“We’re delighted to be partnering with the Arts Foundation again to support this timely award. Ezra Collective’s Mercury Prize win earlier this year definitely marked a new era of recognition for the UK’s Jazz scene, so we’re thrilled to champion promising Jazz composers in this way.”

Mary Jane Edwards, Director of The Arts Foundation said:

 “The UK’s Jazz has always been incredibly energetic, but its emerging talent is still often under-supported by mainstream funds and the commercial music industry. We’re hugely excited to partner with PRS Foundation to resource the growing momentum in this genre and provide unrestricted financial support to music artists and composers.”

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, Facebook and LinkedIn for all the latest awards news and updates.