Project Art Works are delighted to announce that we are one of three recipients for the £150,000 Award for Civic Arts Organisations by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and King’s College London
Yesterday the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), in partnership with King’s College London, announced the recipients of the Second Award for Civic Arts Organisations. The three organisations that will be receiving this prestigious award were The Art House in Wakefield, In Place of War in Manchester and Project Art Works. The Art House has been awarded £100,000, In Place of War and Project Art Works each receive £25,000.
Katie Taylor, Creative Programme Manager, and Cosmic Collie, created by Lucy, were online to accept the award on behalf of Project Art Works.
All three organisations were chosen from over 200 high-quality applications from all across the UK for their outstanding capacity to adapt to the pandemic and for how they have all deepened their commitment to their communities over the past two years.
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation commented on why we were selected;
“Project Art Works is a collective of neurodivergent artists and activists. Throughout the pandemic, they reimagined how they wanted to engage with their community and how best to help those with complex support needs. They created a digital platform for their communities to participate in creative work from their homes, using tools such as letters, video conferencing and the exchanging of objects to maintain the important connection they had with the organisation. During this period, Project Art Works was shortlisted for the Turner Prize. Project Art Works was commended for championing diversity and providing a platform for people and issues that are often ignored or insufficiently recognised in society and the arts sector.”
The recipients were chosen by a panel of judges chaired by Baroness Bull (Deborah Bull), Vice President (Communities & National Engagement) and Senior Advisory Fellow for Culture, King’s College London and consisting of: Sukhy Johal, Director of the Centre for Culture & Creativity, University of Lincoln, Chair, West Midlands Arts Council, Trustee, Arts Council; Amanda Parker, Founder and Chief Executive, Inc Arts; Briana Pegado, Co-Director, We Are Here Scotland; Isabelle Schwarz, Head of Public Policy, European Cultural Foundation; Devinda de Silva, Head of Collaboration, National Theatre of Wales; and Mark Williams, CEO and Artistic Director, Heart n Soul (main recipient of the 2021 Award).
Louisa Hooper, Interim Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch) says:
“Through the Award we aim to spotlight the transformational power of art for individual and societal change and provide a lever for organisations to scale their civic role work. We hope that reading about this year’s recipients – and how they have played a central role in their communities in the most innovative ways – provides inspiration for other organisations too. They provide fuel for hope and for a future in which the arts sector brings its visionary and healing magic to the business of reconnecting and shaping our world for the better.”
Baroness Bull, Vice President (Communities & National Engagement) and Senior Advisory Fellow for Culture at King’s College London (chair of the judges), comments:
“The applicants to this year’s Award exemplify the creativity, flexibility and resilience that arts organisations across the UK have demonstrated in response to the challenges of the pandemic years. Our recipients rose above a crowded field because of their evidenced commitment to their civic role.”
The Award is funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), with King’s College London as the academic partner to deliver the Award. Students from the Department of Culture, Media & Creative Industries in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King’s researched how the ten shortlisted organisations reinforced their civic role using new models.
For more information about the award, please visit:
bit.ly/AwardCivicArts