Fine Art students awarded prestigious prizes

We are delighted to announce that three of our Fine Art students have won prestigious prizes for their work. St Edmund Hall is known for its strong artistic cohort, and has a close relationship with the Ruskin School of Art, and this year’s finalists continue a tradition of excelling in their field.

Jessica Heywood (2015, Fine Art) has won the Vivien Leigh Prize, awarded by Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. The prize is given for an outstanding work of two-dimensional art on paper by an undergraduate member of the University, whose work will then be displayed at the Ashmolean. Jessica was awarded the prize for her degree show piece, ‘Oh My God! The Future!’, while another of her works, ‘If Only Mummy Wasn’t Insane #1’, will be exhibited at the Ashmolean. The latter is part of a triptych, which is to be split up into three parts spanning the country: one will be held in a domestic collection in London, one in Sheffield, and the third in the Ashmolean. Both drawings investigate a conglomeration, similar to a hive or infestation, which both appeals to and repulses the viewer. Jessica comes from a long line of Teddy Hall recipients of the award; one of our students has won every year since 2014. Find out more about Jessica’s work on her website www.jessicaheywood.com or on Instagram @jessicaheywoodart.

One of our Masters students, Alistair Debling (2017, MFA), has been awarded a Red Mansion Prize. The prize provides flights, accommodation and living expenses to travel to China for one month, allowing him to live and work alongside other artists. Alistair’s work takes the form of large-scale video installation and he is particularly interested in society’s mediated relationship to violence. Alistair will travel to Beijing this winter, where he plans to conduct visual research for a project about the city’s ancient walls and gateways, looking at how these past sites of protest and conflict might relate to contemporary barriers to the free movement of people and information in China. See more of Alistair’s work on his website www.aadebling.com.

Meanwhile Luke Dawes (2015, Fine Art) has won the 2018 Platform Prize, awarded by Modern Art Oxford in collaboration with the Contemporary Visual Arts Network. The award is given to recent art school graduates and culminates in a two-week solo exhibition in Modern Art Oxford’s Project Space, as a stepping stone between art school and life as a professional artist. Luke’s exhibition will take place from 3 to 13 October 2018. Learn more about Luke’s work on his website www.lukedawes.com.

Find out more about studying Fine Art at St Edmund Hall