Platform Graduate Award 2022

27 Oct 2022-29 Jan 2023

Overview

This year Turner Contemporary presents the Platform Graduate Award 2022, the annual region-wide project created to support new graduate talent across the south east of England. This year’s exhibition includes four artists graduating from Fine Art courses at University for the Creative Arts (UCA).

The Platform Graduate Award is an initiative to support emerging graduate artistic talent to further their practice following graduation. Established in 2012, the award includes a £2,000 bursary and mentoring, and is awarded to an outstanding graduate from one of several participating regional higher education partners.

The initiative is led by CVAN South East (Contemporary Visual Arts Network South East) and in 2021, is a partnership between six galleries: Aspex Portsmouth, MK Gallery in Milton Keynes, Modern Art Oxford, Phoenix Art Space in Brighton, Plymouth College of Art, and Turner Contemporary in Margate. Following an exhibition and events programme across the four participating galleries, an artist from each gallery will be nominated for the award, with the winning artist announced in December 2022.

Platform focuses on artists in the first year after graduation; a critical time when the loss of the university support structure and financial pressures can test an artist’s dedication to their practice. For the participating galleries, this is a way to keep in touch with the most promising emerging practice, and with higher education institutions. More broadly, the scheme aims to stimulate artist networks outside of London and encourage artists to stay in the South East region.