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  • 10 Nov 2015

Awards for Artists 2015 – recipients announced

We are proud to announce the recipients of the 21st annual Paul Hamlyn Foundation Awards for Artists, the largest individual awards made to visual artists and composers in the UK. The eight winners will each receive £50k over three years, with no strings attached giving them the space and time to be creative.

The recipients for 2015 are:

Visual artists:
Emma Hart
Will Holder
Tina Keane
Karen Mirza and Brad Butler
Patrick Staff

Composers:
Adem Ilhan
Brian Irvine
Peter Wareham

Awards for Artists 2015 were presented by Jane Hamlyn at our offices in London and we were proud to welcome award-winning writer Jeanette Winterson OBE who gave a key note speech. Jeanette emphasised the fact that art is not the preserve of a privileged few, but is a medium for everyone to engage with:

Art isn’t some Sunday afternoon pursuit invented for the middle classes – art is democratic, it is for everybody.

She went on to talk about the value that migrants and refugees can bring to this country:

let’s remember that Paul Hamlyn, the German Jew, came to Britain, built a business, and he is why we are here tonight, Honour his legacy by doing what he wanted you to do – make things, create things, be bold in your vision.

You can read a full transcript of Jeanette Winterson’s speech here.

Launched in 1994, Awards for Artists can be made at any point in an artist’s career, with no age restrictions, but the judging panel is always asked to consider an artist’s potential for future development. Since their inception more than £5m has been awarded to over 130 recipients.

Jane Hamlyn said:

The most important aspect of Awards for Artists is that there are no strings attached. These are exceptional artists and composers and Paul Hamlyn Foundation wants them to have the time and space to create the best possible work.

Moira Sinclair, Chief Executive of Paul Hamlyn Foundation, commented:

Paul Hamlyn’s long held conviction was that you should invest in the people you believe in and that’s exactly what we are doing with these awards. What makes Awards for Artists so very special is that it gives freedom to the artists to use the money in any way they chose. With powerful feedback like: ‘it will change everything, I can be the artist that I dream of being,’ we at the Foundation are extremely proud of the awards and their impact over the years.

For more information and a full list of previous recipients, please visit the Awards for Artists website.