Paul Hamlyn Foundation: Awards for Artists

Overview

The awards aim to give artists the freedom to develop their creative ideas and to grow both personally and professionally, reflecting the Foundation’s strong belief in the value of artists to society. This unique scheme has benefited more than160 artists with awards totalling over £6.5m.

The current scheme focuses on visual artists and composers. From 2017, the number of awards given to composers has risen from three to five, bringing them in line with those for visual arts. The amount awarded to each artist in both art forms has also increased from £50,000 to £60,000 to recognise cost of living increases.

Objectives

• To encourage artists to continue to practice despite outside pressures, financial or otherwise.
• To broaden the community of artists supported by the Foundation, whilst ensuring that these names speak for themselves and are associated with consistent excellence, talent and quality work.
• To continue building on the reputation and achievements of the Foundation's Awards for Visual Arts.
• To support new music and composers, across musical genres and practices.
• To maintain the Foundation's distinctive style of support for individual artists that offers awards paid in equal instalments over three years and is neither over mediatised or age-specific.

Principles

• The Awards are made at a timely moment in an artist’s career, offering significant support with no strings attached. The awards are not prizes in any conventional sense, but are instead given on the basis of a mix of factors – talent, promise, tenacity and need, as well as achievement to date. They do not prioritise any particular age group and consider artists from as broad a spectrum of visual arts practice and composition as possible.
• Each award provides three years of support totalling £60,000, which artists are free to use as they see fit. Recipients are given full autonomy to decide how the award can best support their life and practice as an artist. The Awards are not about recognising commercial success and they will therefore only be made to artists who need financial support to continue to practice. Previous recipients have used the award to help with living costs and purchase equipment, as well to buy time and space to develop new ideas and explore new techniques.

Eligibility

• Individual artists are not eligible to apply directly but are nominated. A panel of judges selects the recipients on the basis of talent, promise and need, as well as achievement.

For a list of previous recipients visit the website here