Press release
Dundee to lead UK’s premier drawing exhibition and prize
Published on 20 April 2020
The UK’s foremost annual drawing prize and exhibition will come to Dundee for the first time next year, when it is hoped thousands of visitors will be able to view the show.
The UK’s foremost annual drawing prize and exhibition will come to Dundee for the first time next year, when it is hoped thousands of visitors will be able to view the show.
The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize was founded in 1994 by Professor Anita Taylor, Dean of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, part of the University of Dundee. Since her appointment at DJCAD last year, Professor Taylor has worked to involve the University in the prize.
In addition to the exhibition visiting Dundee as part of its 2020/21 tour, leading figures from the city’s cultural scene will also help decide the winners of the various awards on offer with Sophia Hao, Curator of DJCAD’s Cooper Gallery, and Sophie McKinlay, Director of Programme at V&A Dundee, appointed to this year’s selection panel.
An international call for entries has been launched to celebrate the 25th consecutive annual open drawing competition. Shortlisted works will be exhibited at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London in September, when prizes with a total value of £17,000 will be awarded.
Professor Taylor said, “I am delighted that the University of Dundee is to be the new academic home of the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize project. Drawing is a vital means of communication and expression for all, and relevant to all that we do in Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. It is also worth noting that one of the very first award-winners in 1994 was Louise Cattrell, a DJCAD alumna.
“We are thrilled to have the continuing support of Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust for a third year as we present the 25th annual exhibition. The average attendance at each stop of the tour is around 4,000 people so this is a major addition to Dundee’s cultural offering. We hope to be able to announce a venue for the exhibition shortly.
“In 2020, we will extend the focus of the Working Drawing Award with a dedicated selection panel and display within the overarching exhibition, and its attention on the role of drawing in ideation, and in the making and production of artefacts, the built environment, systems, sciences, engineering, and beyond. We are also returning to our founding principles of an international entry without geographic boundaries.
“Once again, we have a terrific group of independent selectors. We look forward to seeing an exciting range of drawings submitted for them to choose from for this special edition of the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize exhibition.”
Professor Taylor is an artist, educator and curator, who founded the prize, then known as the Rexel Derwent Open Drawing Exhibition, in 1994. This year marks the third year of support for the prize by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust
The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize has established a reputation for providing new insights into contemporary drawing practice and championing the role and value of drawing more widely. It is selected by an annually changing panel of expert selectors who choose the exhibition of drawings and the award-winning works from those submitted during the call for entries by emerging and established drawing practitioners.
Several individual awards will be presented at the exhibition - the First Prize (£8,000), Second Prize (£5,000), Student Award (£2,000), and the Working Drawing Award (£2,000). The latter award focuses on the role of working drawings in art, architecture, design, engineering, manufacture, production, and science.
Sophia Hao is a member of the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020 Selection Panel - along with artist Ian McKeever RA and Frances Morris, Director of Tate Modern - while Sophie McKinlay will help select the Working Drawing Award 2020 with Alan Baxter CBE (engineer), Piers Gough CBE RA (architect) and Sir Ian Blatchford, Director of the Science Museum in London.
There will be a two-stage submission process due to current public health restrictions, allowing for an initial longlisting process as necessary. The Selection Panel will select the final exhibition from actual drawings at Trinity Buoy Wharf, where they will be considered for the awards.
Drawings may now be entered for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020 exhibition and awards via the online portal before 24 June 2020. The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020 exhibition will include around 65 drawings shortlisted for the awards and will tour nationally in 2020/21, including Dundee. It will be accompanied by a fully illustrated publication.
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize Project
The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize project is led by its founding Director, Professor Anita Taylor, artist, educator, curator, founder of Drawing Projects UK, and Dean of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at the University of Dundee since 2019. The Drawing Prize project was founded in 1994 as the Rexel Derwent Open Drawing Exhibition and known from 1996-2000 as the Cheltenham Open Drawing Exhibition. From 2001-2017 it was known as Jerwood Drawing Prize and supported by Jerwood Charitable Foundation. Previous supporters have included Westland Nurseries, The Summerfield Charitable Trust, CHK Charities and Rootstein Hopkins Foundation. The Evelyn Williams Drawing Award is supported by the Evelyn Williams Trust, and awarded biennially, first in 2017 and then in 2019.
Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust
In 1998, London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) set up the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust with a 125-year lease to hold the land and their vision in trust for the people of London, while the freehold was passed to the LB Tower Hamlets. The Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust holds a 125-year lease from LB Tower Hamlets and Urban Space Management in turn has a 124 lease from the Trust. The terms provide for 25% of the Wharf's income to be paid to the Trust to use for promoting arts activity in the area. To date the Trust has supported and funded a wide range of arts projects and organisations. The Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust became the principal supporter of the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize in 2018.