Turner Contemporary platform for graduates
Four recent graduates of the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) are displaying their work at Turner Contemporary as part of an exciting new competition.
Jack Coulson, Karen Crosby, Dominic Maffia and Sabina Tupan, who all graduated from BA (Hons) Fine Art at UCA Canterbury in July, are showing selected as part of a new arts initiative aiming to support graduate professional development and nurture new talent in the South.
The Platform Graduate Award, created by Contemporary Visual Art Network (CVAN) South East, sends the best graduate work with four of the region's top galleries: Turner Contemporary, Aspex Gallery in Portsmouth, MK Gallery in Milton Keynes and Modern Art Oxford.
The top six artworks from all four exhibitions will be brought together for an awards ceremony in Oxford on 22 November where the inaugural Platform winner will be announced and walk away with £2,500 and a year of customised professional development.
Sepake Angiama, Curator of Public Programmes at Turner Contemporary, said: "Platform is an exciting new initiative that provides a space for new emerging artists to show alongside international artists at Turner Contemporary. We hope to build a community of artists who see the benefit of remaining in Kent to develop their practice to create a bourgeoning creative network."
UCA Fine Art graduate, Karen Crosby, said: "I have not stopped smiling since I found out that I was showing in this exhibition. Having my film exhibited in the gallery has been a huge thrill, in fact the whole experience has been amazing."
Fellow graduate, Sabina Tupan, said: "Exhibiting at such a prestigious gallery as Turner Contemporary is a first for me - I was not aware of all the details that are put together to make a show. Getting selected for the Platform Graduate Award means a lot to me."
BA (Hons) Fine Art course leader, Anthony Heywood, said: "The students selected for the prize have all demonstrated strong academic development and this is reflected in their submissions, with each work having a significant level of clear articulation of media and understanding of materials and scale."
UCA also has two nominees for the prize at its campus in Surrey. UCA Farnham BA (Hons) Fine Art graduates Marianne Glassand Deme Georghiou were chosen to show their work at the Platform exhibition at Aspex in Portsmouth.
The Platform Exhibition at Turner Contemporary runs from 10 October until 18 November. Admission is free.
For more information contact:
David Reilly, Press Officer, UCA
T: 01252 892939
E: dreilly@ucreative.ac.uk
