And the 2020 FUAM Graduate Art Prize winner is…
Following this year's exhibition, the winner of the 2020 FUAM Graduate Art Prize has been announced.
The annual Friends of University Art and Music (FUAM) Graduate Art Prize rewards the artistic excellence of students completing their studies at the University of Leeds.
An expert panel of judges received submissions from recent graduates of the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies and School of Design at the University of Leeds. The judging panel comprised Professor Alison Fell (Director of the Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute), Jane Bhoyroo (Producer, Yorkshire Sculpture International) and Helen Watson (Director, The Tetley – maternity leave).
The four finalists selected were T'Shah Henry (BA Art and Design), Emma Lawrence (BA Art and Design), Sasha Napoli (BA Fine Art), and Poppy Jones-Little (BA Fine Art).
Their work was exhibited in an online exhibition this summer, with the chance for virtual visitors to give their people’s vote to their favourite artist.
A special online event was held on 14 October 2020 where the judges returned to choose the overall winner of the FUAM Graduate Art Prize 2020.
The winner is T'Shah Henry, whose work “Symbiotic Systems” and “Becoming Other”, invites the audience to consider their place in nature, and the intimate exchanges we share with nature.
T’Shah said about her win:
I feel so honoured to have been selected for such a prestigious award. As something so personally attached to me it fills me with joy that my submission to the FUAM was received with such appreciation and enjoyment. As the overall winner, my confidence has been boosted and within these very strange times I leave the University of Leeds with hope for a successful future within the art industry.
T’Shah’s work 'Symbiotic Systems' and ‘Becoming Other’, invites the audience to consider their place in nature, and the intimate exchanges we share with nature.
The People's Choice winner was Sasha Napoli. This accolade was voted for by our online audience and was also announced at the online event.
Past winners of the FUAM Graduate Art Prize have gone on to achieve great success in their artistic careers — for example, exhibiting their work at places such as The Tetley and Royal Academy, and undertaking artist residencies with Sunny Bank Mills and The Art House UK.
