Meet the Curator: Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award 2023
Garth Gratrix at Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award 2019 Finalist Exhibition. Photo by Reece Straw.
Garth Gratrix (he/they, b.1984) is an artist, independent curator and founding Director of Abingdon Studios in Blackpool, UK. Gratrix is the recipient of a Clore Leadership Fellow for Visual Arts (2022/23) supported by The Artist Information Company and the Clore Duffield Foundation.
With a passion for supporting talent, Gratrix has been key in shaping the Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award since its inaugural edition in 2019. They have brought invaluable insights and expertise to the award, provided significant support to emerging artists and created a wonderful platform for their work over the last five years. As well as the Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award, Gratrix has curated numerous large-scale group exhibitions with UKNA including The Beginning, Seoul, South Korea. Gratrix’s other curational work includes GRAFT- a show of 26 emerging artists at the Harris Museum & Art Gallery (2019) and WINK WINK, an exhibition of UK queer artists at the Whitaker Museum & Art Gallery (2023) where Gratrix gathered 24 artists with diverse practices, brought together to explore the intersectionality of language, material, race, gender from a queer perspective.
Gratrix’s own artistic work is centred around formal frolic, notions of queering and embodied systems of collaboration, support and care. Gratrix has works in permanent collections in the UK and internationally; exhibiting alongside artists including Helen Cammock, Lubaina Himid, Derek Jarman, Jonathan Baldock, Sunil Gupta to name but a few.
Garth Gratrix at Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award 2022 Finalist Exhibition. Photo by Tom Morley.
When asked about the Robert Walters Group UK New Artist Award over the past five years, Gratrix noted:
’’The award is a truly visionary platform that celebrates emerging and diverse artistic excellence. As an artist and curator, I am honoured and humbled to be part of such a high-quality showcase of UK-wide talent and feel incredibly lucky to engage with so many exceptional artists and their works. The reaction to the open call and the public interaction with the physical show is a much-anticipated part of my calendar and I thoroughly enjoy working with and across the teams at UK New Artists (UKNA), Robert Walters Group, and Saatchi Gallery to make the finalists’ exhibition a strong impactful celebration of the wonderful work which is being made in the UK today.’’
Looking ahead to the submissions for the 2023 award, Gratrix expressed:
‘’I am expecting the highest volume of submissions to date. The theme is broad yet relevant and offers artists the freedom to play and adopt a sense of formal frolic in response to the open call. I expect to see artists who share their honesty, their authenticity, and their creativity; whether that be with finesse, with frivolity, or with flirtation as to how we see and interpret the world we are living in right now. I'm genuinely excited and thrilled to be able to read and see every single submission that we receive and really start to get a sense of what is emerging. I hope to be shocked, offended, encouraged and supported as a result of an invite that asks us to explore where we are and whether what lies ahead is greener or not.’’
The 2023 edition of the Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award is now open for entries. Artists are presented with an opportunity to have their work assessed by Garth Gratrix and our stellar judging panel. This award represents more than just recognition; we see it as a stepping stone towards a thriving creative career.
To find out more about the 2023 Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award and how to enter, click the button below.
