Rising stars in moving-image, Karen Kramer and Alice May Williams, are today announced as the winners of the Jerwood/FVU Awards 2016, both receiving £20,000 commissions to develop significant new film projects. These new works will premiere at Jerwood Space, London, on 9 March 2016, before touring to CCA, Glasgow, later in the year.
The two winning artists were selected from a shortlist of six, chosen from over 250 applications by a panel comprising: Steven Bode, Director of Film and Video Umbrella (FVU); Shonagh Manson, Director of Jerwood Charitable Foundation; Francis McKee, Director of CCA, Glasgow; Marianna Simnett, winner of the Jerwood/FVU Awards 2015; and Sam Thorne, Artistic Director of Tate St Ives and former contributing editor to Frieze magazine.
Both Kramer and Williams submitted bold proposals that embody their creative response to the 2016 curatorial theme, ‘Borrowed Time’, and will be afforded a 10-month development period, overseen by FVU, to bring these ideas to fruition. As the title ‘Borrowed Time’ suggests, the resulting works will reflect on the uncertain nature of our contemporary economic and ecological moment, while also alluding to wider historical patterns and elemental forces.
In Kramer’s proposed film, the collapsed atomic plant of Fukushima in Japan, and its sinister presence in the landscape, acts as a reminder of our fragile relationship with our surroundings. Williams’ will use the architectural hulk of London’s Battersea Power Station as a platform for consideration of the various hopes and dreams that have been associated with this riverside site.
On the selection process, panellist Sam Thorne, Artistic Director of Tate St Ives, commented:
‘I was thrilled to be on the selection panel for the Jerwood/FVU Awards 2016. The submitted work was as strong as it was varied. It made me excited for the future of moving-image work in the UK – a future that these Awards have already done so much to support. I was particularly impressed by Karen Kramer’s extraordinary use of sound and text, and by Alice May Williams’ playful exploration of online imagery.’
Now in its third edition, the Jerwood/FVU Awards support moving-image artists in the first five years of their practice, and are a collaboration between Jerwood Charitable Foundation and Film and Video Umbrella (FVU) in association with CCA, Glasgow.
To date, the initiative has awarded funds of £152,000 to 10 of the most exciting new talents to emerge on the contemporary art scene: Ed Atkins, Lucy Clout, Kate Cooper, Anne Haaning, Emma Hart, Karen Kramer, Naheed Raza, Marianna Simnett, Corin Sworn and Alice May Williams. On the experience of participating in the awards, Marianna Simnett, winner of the Jerwood/FVU Awards 2015, commented:
‘The Jerwood/FVU Awards have taught me to stop discarding the impossible. My ideas were listened to, challenged and realised. It gave me the support I needed to involve others on a journey which I’d previously led alone. It’s an unforgettable experience for anyone working with moving image.’
The University of East London, School of Arts and Digital Industries is generously supporting the Awards by providing the winning artists with access to their wide range of facilities.
The Jerwood/FVU Awards 2016: ‘Borrowed Time’ will be at Jerwood Space, London from 9 March to 24 April 2016 and at CCA, Glasgow from 28 May to 10 July 2016.
More information can be found at: www.JerwoodFVUawards.com & #JerwoodFVUawards
