Before stepping down as President & Provost of UCL, Professor Michael Arthur launched the new UCL East Provost Art Prize.

Until the opening of the new campus, the Prize will annually recognise the achievements of five graduates from the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL who will each receive a £2,000 award. Their selected artwork will feature at UCL East, on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.

This new prize reflects UCL East’s commitment to animate its buildings through public art while celebrating students’ achievements and helping them start their artistic careers.

At a time when art and culture is one of the sectors most badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions, UCL East is supporting UCL’s new art graduates with the UCL East Provost Art Prize.

At the 2020 Slade Graduate Show, the selection panel for the Provost Prize included the former UCL President & Provost Prof Michael Arthur, UCL East Director Prof Paola Lettieri, Slade Director Kieren Reed, and UCL Head of Public Art Sam Wilkinson.

They selected works from three graduates and invited two artists to create new work specifically for UCL East.

The 2020 awardees are:

• Lydia Makin: The Hush of Your Breath
• Ellie Hayward: InsideOutside
• Francisca Sosa Lopez: persianas
• Mataio Austin Dean: commissioned to produce a new work for UCL East
• Ishwari Bhalerao and Leonie Rousham: commissioned to produce a new work for UCL East

Former UCL President & Provost, Professor Michael Arthur, said:

“I was very proud to award the first UCL East Provost Art Prize awards. My personal interest in the arts has only grown at UCL, due to the excellent work of the Slade, and it is a deep satisfaction for me to be able to select the first artworks to be exhibited on our new campus, UCL East.”

Professor Paola Lettieri, Director of UCL East, said:

“The public art and community engagement programme is an important part of the development at UCL East, and I am delighted that it enables us to celebrate the work of UCL students from around the world.

With the Slade coming to UCL East in 2022, it is part of the ethos of UCL East that the work of its students should be reflected throughout the development, and for the buildings to be animated by thought-provoking artwork that they produce.” 

Kieren Reed, Director of the Slade School of Fine Art, said:

“The UCL East Provost Art Prize offers a fantastic opportunity for our final year students, as they make the transition from study to professional practice. This award comes at a timely moment considering Covid-19’s impact on the arts and I am pleased that with this Prize, UCL will be able to support a number of our new graduates each year.

The selected works, in print, painting, media, performance and sculpture, reflect our students’ creativity and the breadth of teaching at the Slade.

We very much look forward to celebrating the prize winners’ achievements and seeing the works in situ when UCL East opens.”

Sam Wilkinson, Head of Public Art at UCL, said:

“We are thrilled that the public art programme for the UCL East campus will now include this annual prize to celebrate the achievements of Slade graduates.

Especially as we are facing a difficult time, it is crucial that we actively work and support talented emerging artists coming out of the Slade. The Covid-19 pandemic has only worsened the situation of artist graduates, it is important for UCL to be supporting our community.”

This news was originally published on UCL East's website.