We're delighted to introduce you to the judging panel of our climate change art prize with Octopus Energy, Portraits from the Precipice.
These judges will be reviewing the 150 shortlisted works to choose 10 finalists. The winners of first, second and third prize, plus the winner of a People's Choice award will be announced at a prize giving event at the Royal Academy of Arts later this month. The first prize winner will be awarded £10,000, the second place £1,000 and the third place will win £250 worth of Cass Art vouchers.
Hannah Clugston, Art Writer
Hannah Clugston is a freelance art journalist based in the north of England. She spends her time looking at art, reviewing, interviewing and writing for the Guardian, Yorkshire Post, Apollo and Aesthetica amongst others. As one of the founding members of Girl Gang (a female creative collective in Sheffield, Manchester and Leeds), Hannah is particularly interested in art and curation that tackles hidden hierarchies. Hannah also runs a sustainable and ethical fashion website called My Indie Wardrobe that promotes the stylish credentials of clothing that is kind to the planet and considerate towards workers.
Dario Ilari, Founder, Jealous Gallery and Artfinder curatorial board
Dario Illari is the founder of Jealous Gallery and Print Studio. Known for their experimental and collaborative approach, Jealous has worked with artists such as David Shrigley, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Gavin Turk, Harland Miller, Gary Hume, Rachel Howard, Chris Levine, Chantal Joffe and Rose Wylie, and many others.
Kate Sandle, Director of Partnerships and Engagement, B Lab UK
Since the launch of the B Corp movement in the UK, Kate has been building a community of companies who are reinventing business. By voluntarily meeting rigorous social and environmental standards, Certified B Corps are distinguishing themselves by measuring their impact and offering a better way to do business. There are over 3,200 certified B Corps globally from 150 industries and 60 countries, including The Body Shop, Patagonia, Innocent and of course, Artfinder! As the Director of Programmes and Engagement at B Lab UK, Kate works with existing B Corps to strengthen the community, deliver campaigns to champion a new operating system for capitalism and create events to engage B Corps and build the community.
Kate is a founding Director of Business Declares, a new volunteer led network, launched to encourage and enable business to declare a climate emergency and commit to meaningful action. Kate is on the Advisory Board of an alcohol-free beer, Freestar. Kate is a judge on several awards covering tech and film.
Kate says: "One guiding principle for me was clarity in what the picture was trying to say. Ambiguity in the climate emergency is not an option, I will base my choices on pieces where the message is crystal clear and provocative."
Julia Alvarez, Founder, Bearspace Gallery and Artfinder curatorial board
Julia Alvarez is the founder and director of BEARSPACE Gallery and the South London Art Map. She's worked within the contemporary art world for the last 15 years and with expertise in curating, art sales and promotion. She's also a regular speaker at universities, colleges and professional development programmes.
Aindrea Emelife, Artfinder curatorial board
Aindrea Emelife is an art critic, independent curator, gallerist and presenter from London. With a BA in History of Art at The Courtauld Institute of Art, she debuted her first column for the Financial Times aged 20 years old, and has since been published in the Guardian, BBC Culture, Tatler, Vice, and Country & Town House magazine. In 2018, Aindrea launched her private art advisory, working primarily with emerging artists.
Alice Philimore, Artfinder lead curator
Alice has worked with contemporary galleries and artists for over a decade. She studied History of Art at Nottingham University and has an MA in Arts Management and Policy from Birkbeck, University of London. She has worked on exhibitions at art fairs including Masterpiece, London, the London Art Fair, the Affordable Art Fairs and Buy Art Fair, Manchester.
Lucy Dallas, Arts & Digital Editor of the TLS will also be joining the judging panel.
Artworks from the shortlist are currently being displayed at over 2,500 iconic locations around the UK from 25th November – 23rd February 2020, in the UK's largest-ever out of home exhibition. Each unique piece responded to the brief of ‘what climate change means to you’, addressing our current crisis.
The shorlisted works can be purchased in our Octopus Energy Art collection and all commission from sales will be donated to renewable energy charity, Renewable World.
Header image credit. Alfred Ng
