Six talented artists have been awarded commissions to create new works for Aberdeen Art Gallery’s collection to celebrate the venue’s success as a joint winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020.
The 2020 prize money of £200,000 was split equally between the five joint winners. Aberdeen Art Gallery’s share
The gallery will support a series of small-scale “micro-commissions”, open to creative practitioners of any discipline living in AB postcode areas. It is being funded from the gallery’s share of the £200,000 prize money from the Museum of the Year award which was split equally between the five winners.
The selected visual artists, craft-makers, musicians, writers, sound artists, poets and filmmakers will help Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums address the lack of representation and diversity in its collection.
As the name suggests, micro-commissions are small-scale works produced quickly in response to the collection, creating artworks that relate to existing objects and themes or that highlight gaps within the collection.
More than 50 creatives applied to receive art commissions
There were more than 50 submissions in this second round of the awards.
Self-taught realist Florence Reekie, who is inspired by societal relationships with clothing and fabric, and Juliet Macleod, who is known for creating contemporary wheel-thrown porcelain inspired by the sea, received £3,000 funding.
Painter and illustrator Joshua Macpherson, writer and spoken word artist Kimberley Petrie, composer Joe Stollery and handweaver and scientist Lynne Hocking-Mennie were awarded £850 each.
Councillor Marie Boulton, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesperson, said she was “thrilled” to welcome a second group of creatives into the gallery’s micro-commissions programme.
Aberdeen Art Gallery artists to explore themes including climate change and neuro-diversity
She added: “With over 50 excellent applications, the breadth and diversity of the creative sector in Aberdeen made the role of the selection panel even harder in Round 2.
“We are all really looking forward to seeing the next projects develop and offer new perspectives on the historic collection.
“With themes ranging from self-identity to climate change and neuro-diversity, to our sense of place in Aberdeen, the commissioned artists will explore the collection and the buildings in creative and inspiring ways.
“Public engagement is an important element of these commissions and we hope that, Covid-19 restrictions permitting, there will be an opportunity to share the work created through a programme of talks, events, performances, workshops and displays.”