Jerwood Drawing Prize 2017: Call for Entries

Jerwood Drawing Prize 2017: Call for Entries
Celebrating the excellence of contemporary drawing in the UK

Artists are invited to submit entries for the Jerwood Drawing Prize 2017, the largest and longest running annual open exhibition for drawing in the UK.

The Jerwood Drawing Prize is led by founding Director Professor Anita Taylor at Bath Spa University and supported by Jerwood Charitable Foundation through its national programme Jerwood Visual Arts. Selected from original art works, the Jerwood Drawing Prize has established a reputation for its commitment to championing excellence and promoting and celebrating the breadth of contemporary drawing practice within the UK. This open exhibition is a platform for drawing practitioners to showcase their work alongside other leading contemporary artists in the field, and provides those selected with the opportunity to help promote a wider understanding of drawing for future generations.

The Jerwood Drawing Prize is open to all artists who are based in the UK to submit their drawings. Up to 70 drawings will be selected for the exhibition as part of the Jerwood Visual Arts programme at Jerwood Space, London, from 13 September – 22 October 2017, before touring to venues across the UK.

The 2017 selectors are Dr David Dibosa, writer, researcher and Reader in Museology at the University of the Arts London, Helen Legg, Director of Spike Island and Michael Simpson, artist. They will create an exhibition that explores and celebrates the excellence and range of current drawing practice in the UK. The prizes, which will be awarded at a private ceremony on 12 September 2017, are a First Prize of £8,000, Second Prize of £5,000 and two Student Awards of £2,000 each.

Online registration for artists entering the Jerwood Drawing Prize 2017 will close at 5pm on 28 June 2017. Once registered, artists can submit their works through one of the regional collection centres.

The project was founded in 1994 as the Rexel Derwent Open Drawing Exhibition and was known from 1996 until 2000 as the Cheltenham Open Drawing Exhibition, until Jerwood Charitable Foundation became the principal benefactor in 2001.

Following 17 significant and successful years of support, Jerwood Charitable Foundation and Bath Spa University have announced that 2017 will be Jerwood Charitable Foundation’s final year as the key partner and funder for the Jerwood Drawing Prize. The exhibition project will continue to be led and developed by Professor Anita Taylor at Bath Spa University. The visual arts in the UK has benefited enormously from the prestige of the Jerwood Drawing Prize. It has championed the careers of many emerging and established artists and this legacy will continue as the project moves forward into a new phase with new supporters.

Deadline for online registration: Wednesday 28 June 2017, 5pm.