At The Ingram Collection we are passionate about the need to support young artists. That is why we set up our Young Contemporary Talent Purchase Prize.
We had been buying works from art school degree shows for a number of years (starting with Haroon Mirza’s Wimbledon degree show in 2007), and continued to support the artists whose work we purchased, such as producing Suki Chan’s 2012 film piece Still Point. We exhibited these works in our shows at museums and galleries across the UK, often giving young artists their first public exposure.
Keen to develop this into a more formal programme, in 2016 we established our Purchase Prize to celebrate and support the work of young artists at the outset of their careers. The prize is completely free to enter, and is open to all artists who have graduated from a UK art school within the previous three years. There are no size limits and the choice of media is entirely open. The work of our selected finalists is shown in an annual exhibition at The Cello Factory in London, and each year we buy up to three works to join the collection. We also offer professional development and on-going support to all our finalists, and invite one of the prize-winning artists to put on a solo show at the Art Fund Prize-winning gallery, The Lightbox.
Our 2017 winners were Victoria Sin, Harrison Pearce and Anna Liber Lewis, and we are hugely excited to see what they have gone on to achieve.
Victoria Sin is currently in ‘DRAG: Self-portraits and Body Politics’ at the Hayward Gallery, and will be the subject of a solo presentation at Sotheby’s s2 gallery later this year, which will include their prize-winning film Part Three: Cthulhu Through the Looking Glass.
Harrison Pearce won the prize with his kinetic sculpture and sound installation work Interview (Prototype), featured this summer in our Young Contemporary Talent group show at The Lightbox. He also has new work in the critically acclaimed ‘The Marvellous Mechanical Museum’ exhibition at Compton Verney, and is currently working on a collaborative project with composer Nico Muhly to develop a substantial installation for Southbank Centre.
Shortly after her painting Holy Trinity won the Purchase Prize, Anna Liber Lewis was also awarded the Griffin Art Prize 2017, and she is currently working towards a solo show at The Lightbox, opening in December 2018.
We continue to feature our Young Contemporary Talent artists in our public loans and exhibition programme, and in this centenary year of votes for women are particularly pleased to be showcasing 17 of our YCT artists, including Victoria Sin, in Show Women at Harlow’s Gibberd Gallery, an exhibition of painting, sculpture, film and installation by contemporary women and non-binary artists.
We believe that the art world is a delicate eco-system and that we have a responsibility towards supporting young artists. It is an entirely charitable initiative. The 2018 edition is open for entries until 5pm on Monday 17 September. For details of how to apply, please visit the www.ingramcollection.com/young-contemporary-talent/purchase-prize
Purchase Prize Exhibition
22-26 November 2018
The Cello Factory, London SE1 8TJ
Find out more about our 2017 Prizewinners here: