Finalists announced for The Friends of University Art and Music Graduate Art Prize 2024 are Tia Brown (BA Art & Design) Mathilda Doubleday (BA Fine Art) Ella Georgiou (BA Fine Art) Saba Siddiqui (BA Art & Design).
Celebrating the talents of students completing their degree studies in Art & Design and Fine Art at The University of Leeds this summer, the Friends of University Art and Music (FUAM) Graduate Art Prize Exhibition returns to The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery from 7 August – 5 October 2024.
The four artists work in media ranging from sculpture and printmaking to sound and digital design. Though diverse, their work shares a strong commitment to artistic innovation through the exploration of materials, processes or narratives. Another common thread is the exploration of alternative ways of thinking and living.
Inspired by gaming and utopian architecture, Tia Brown’s seriously playful practice adapts the Victorian buildings of Headingley to provide social housing for all and encourage the return of plant life to urban spaces.
The natural world provides Mathilda Doubleday with a model for her accomplished ceramics. The structure and behaviour of fungal networks is echoed not only in the labyrinthine forms of her sculptures, but also in her process, which embraces the unpredictability of her materials.
Ella Georgiou, too, brings together impressive skills in a traditional discipline – drawing and etching – with a powerful engagement with ideas, exploring how sound acts as a catalyst for human interaction, and how it can be represented in the visual realm.
Saba Siddiqui’s installation ‘Defiance My Way’ incorporates the artist’s wallpaper and textile designs into an environment that evokes her childhood visits to South Asian textile shops in Sheffield, examining the complexities of colonial histories and her own cultural identity.
Two artists were selected from each of the degree courses by a panel of three judges: Georgia Taylor Aguilar (Curator, Professional Development at ACAVA – Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Arts), Chris Warrington (Director of Student Experience & Support, University of Leeds) and Sandra Whyles (Director of Chapeltown Arts).
The judges will return in the autumn to choose the overall winner of the FUAM Graduate Art Prize 2024.
The ‘Best in Show’ graduating student artist of the year will receive £500 and each of the runners-up will receive £200 to aid them in developing their artistic careers. Visitors can also vote for their favourite artist in the People’s Choice Award, either online or at the gallery. Both prize-winners will be announced at a public event at 5.30pm on 3 October.
Dr Laura Claveria, Associate Curator of Exhibitions, Leeds University Library Galleries:
“We found the shortlisted artworks this year extremely inspiring and exciting. Each explores radical ideas in its own distinctive way, addressing the urgent issues of our time and aspiring to bring about change for the better. We are very thankful to the Friends of the University Arts & Music (FUAM) for supporting the talent and creativity that is nurtured at The University of Leeds, as exemplified by the work of these four fantastic artists.”
Ashley Tjang (BA Art & Design) won last year’s top prize for an installation that documented her grandparents’ migration stories, using animation and printmaking. She reflects:
“Winning the 2023 FUAM Graduate Art Prize was an incredible honour, and I am extremely grateful that ‘Around the Table’ was well received, as it is a project that is close to home. It has encouraged me to incorporate my family roots and cultural heritage into my current work, which includes exploring shrinkable plastic craft and developing my illustration style. I am excited to embark on future projects and see where this journey takes me.”
The Friends of University Art and Music is an independent non-profit foundation established in 1989 to support the musical and artistic life of the University and the City of Leeds. From informal beginnings as a group of staff members and friends, FUAM has grown into a lively organisation with a regular programme of events. Members enjoy exclusive previews, artist talks and more, and their subscriptions and donations support the annual Graduate Art Prize – now in its 12th year – as well as The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery and the University of Leeds International Concert Series. For information on how to join, visit fuam.leeds.ac.uk
The FUAM Graduate Art Prize Exhibition 2024 runs at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, Parkinson Building, University of Leeds, from 7 August – 5 October 2024.
Admission is free, with no booking necessary, and the Gallery is open from 10am – 5pm, Tuesday – Saturday. For more information on the exhibition and events programme, visit the University of Leeds Libraries Galleries website.
The FUAM Graduate Art Prize is generously supported by the Friends of University Art and Music (Leeds) – FUAM, with additional support for the exhibition from the School of Design and the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies. For further information on FUAM visit www.fuam.leeds.ac.uk
Opening hours: 10am – 5pm, Tuesday – Saturday
Website: https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1900/galleries
Main image: 2023 Winner Ashley Tjang with ‘Around The Table’. Photograph courtesy of University of Leeds.
