The first Artists Collecting Society (ACS) Studio prize offers a current student or recent graduate the opportunity to receive £6000 towards the cost of acquiring a studio in the UK. Catching emerging artists in the very infancy of their careers, the prize affords an individual with the financial stability to further their practice. A prestigious judging panel comprising RA Artistic Director Tim Marlow, painter and sculptor Maggi Hambing CBE and Founder of the ACS Lady Bridgeman CBE have selected four finalists from the national open call that was sent out earlier this year. Lady Bridgeman states that she is “delighted that ACS can support burgeoning artistic talent in this way. I look forward to seeing how our winner is better able to develop an artistic practice with the help of studio space.”

Although the prize is a UK based enterprise the finalists are not only nationally widespread but also represent an international heritage. German born Marco Miehling currently lives and works in London, having graduated with a master’s sculpture from the Royal College of Art, London. His work takes the form of site-specific installations and large scale sculptures exploring the varyingly functional nature of objects. Also working with three-dimensional material is Rhona Jack, originally from Edinburgh, now lives and works in Dundee where she studied weaving, sculpture and artists prints at the city’s university. Focusing on a more tactile and human approach to raw materials, Jack moves away from a culture of ready-mades and refocus on a more directive process of labour.

Welsh participant Jack Latham resides in Brighton, having completed a Documentary Photography BA at Newport University. Referring to himself as a “meticulous collector”, he attempts to visually capture the complex stories of the past with a practice rooted in the methodology of a researcher. A Pink Flamingo is a series that follows the footsteps of settlers, gold seekers and hippies of past decades documenting his own retracing of The Organ Trail. Also taking a thematically human-centric approach to her work is selected artist Anna Biesuz. Currently working in London, Biesuz was born in northern Italy and has recently completed her masters in drawing at Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL. The young artist’s intricate drawings investigate the intimate experiences felt within the body that manifest themselves in gesture.

All four artists represent various facets of the visual arts and are a positive indication of the quality of the next generation. The studio award is a essential promotion of fresh talents endeavouring to establish themselves in the industry and the ACS, as a whole, is a general supporter of individual in the creative community as it is a non-profit company dedicated to the employment of intellectual property and artist resale rights. Over the last year, the ACS has provided £28,000 in education bursaries and prizes towards up and coming practitioners, their latest undertaking – the studio prize- will be the largest award to date.

For more information: www.artistscollectingsociety.org

Credits:
1. Jack Latham, Truck W, Idaho, 2014.