Congratulations to Michelle Roberts, who has been shortlisted for the Sky Arts Awards 2025. The nominees were announced today by Sky Arts, and a winner will be announced at 21.00 on 16 September.
Michelle was nominated for the award by Artist Bob & Roberta Smith, who first came across Michelle’s work in the Outside In open call, where he selected Michelle as the winner. The prize was a solo exhibition Michelle Roberts: Red Blue Up which opened at De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill in February 2025.
Image credits: Michelle Roberts: Red, Blue, Up, 2025, installation view, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea. Photography: Rob Harris.
Image: Michelle Roberts, HawkHurst Fish Farm, 2024, pens on canvas, 152cm x 122cm
Michelle Roberts’ love of painting stems from her experience as a young girl, accompanying her grandfather, a landscape artist, on his trips to the countryside to paint. These early encounters inspired in Michelle a desire for her own practice, one that she has maintained throughout her life.
For the past 20 years Michelle has worked out of the Project Art Works studios, an organisation that supports neurodivergent artists, their families, and extended networks. Over this time Michelle has developed a distinct visual language that is instantly recognisable for its intense colour, interwoven forms, and densely packed detail. Drawing on personal experience, Michelle renders exceptional interpretations of the significant events and places that have shaped her life. In contrast to an increasingly gloomy world, Michelle’s works stand out as beacons of joy and celebration.
Untitled Gallery are celebrating the nomination with an online exhibition of Michelle’s work.
Winners will be announced at the Sky Arts Awards ceremony on 16 September around 21.00, hosted by Bill Bailey. Watch it on the night on Sky Arts, Freeview and streaming service NOW.
About the Sky Arts Awards
Launched last year as an evolution of the South Bank Sky Arts Awards, The Sky Arts Awards honours outstanding achievement across a wide spectrum of artistic disciplines. It remains the only event in the world that recognises the full breadth of cultural genres with categories including classical music, comedy, dance, film, literature, poetry, opera, popular music, television, theatre and visual arts. Watch this space for this year’s nominees, who will be announced soon.
Phil Edgar-Jones OBE, Executive Director, Unscripted Originals, commented: “The Sky Arts Awards are more than just a celebration, they’re a reminder of why the arts matter. In a moment where creative industries continue to face funding and visibility challenges, the awards spotlight the vital role the arts play for all of us – we know they bolster the economy, help shape identity, create communities and bring people together but most of all the people who make the stuff we love bring joy into our lives and what could be more useful than that.”