HYPE UP #5: Benjamin Jones finalist for ACS Prize 2019
Congratulations to UKYA Alumni Benjamin Jones, who is among five finalists for the ACS Studio Prize 2019! Benjamin is a photographer who uses traditional processes to create experimental imagery, he graduated from Bath School of Art and Design (2016). Benjamin exhibited at Backlit Gallery in Nottingham as part of UKYA City Takeover earlier this year.
“Inspiration for my work is broad, encompassing both everyday experiences, observations and research. I don’t work project to project in a specific sense and have multiple strands of work drawing from a broad range of ideas and experiences. I’m most fascinated by scientific knowledge around the biological, planetary and cosmological sciences as well as religious and philosophical systems. I’m interested in these as frameworks of knowledge that govern the way in which we interact with the world, as with memory, which is always working to define our experience of the moment.” - Benjamin Jones
The ACS Studio Prize of £6,000 is again being offered to one student or recent graduate to help secure a studio space in a UK city of their choice. Five finalists have been chosen from a national open competition which attracted almost 300 submissions. This year the judges were founder of the Artists’ Collecting Society (ACS) Harriet Bridgeman CBE, renowned artist Cathie Pilkington RA, and Director & Curator of the Ingram Collection Jo Baring who deliberated over an initial shortlist of 26 artists from throughout the UK and Europe. The winner of the prize will be announced mid-September.
“The ACS Studio Prize is establishing itself as one of the most significant national awards for practicing visual artists at early career stage. As an artist with a studio based practice I know how much difference this generous award will make to the winner, enabling them to concentrate on the critical development of their work at such an exciting and crucial stage.” – Cathie Pilkington RA
The four other finalists are: Araminta Blue Wieloch – A painter who draws on memories to explore human nature in imagined scenes; Christopher Mayer – A sculptor who explores narratives inspired by historic and societal changes; Grzegorz Stefanski – A filmmaker and choreographer who examines the psychology of introspection and external observations; and Mohammed Sami – A painter who explores the effects of conflict through reflections on domestic scenes.