£1 million awarded to visual artists and composers in the UK

Published: 6 April 2020 
Concentric squares at an angle with different patterns and textures.

In response to the current emergency, Paul Hamlyn Foundation Awards for Artists will take on a different form this year.

In previous years, 10 visual artists and composers have been selected from a longlist, nominated by a range of curators, producers, writers, artists and musicians across the UK. Each recipient receives £60,000.

The normal process of selecting the award recipients is being put to one side this year. In its place, every eligible artist nominated for the 2020 awards – over 100 in total – will each receive £10,000.

The extraordinary times we are living through are having a huge impact on artists. In the face of this emergency, we’ve decided a different approach to the awards feels right this year. Every nominated visual artist and composer will each receive an award of £10,000. We hope this will go some way to help them weather what will certainly be a very tough year.”

Jane Hamlyn, Chair, Paul Hamlyn Foundation 

The identities of each year’s nominees remain confidential throughout the process. In line with this ethos, we are not announcing the names of the visual artists and composers at this stage.