Celebrating 25 years of Awards for Artists in 2019

Between 1994 and 2019, the awards recognised a total of 175 artists across a range of artforms with funding totalling £7.2 million.

The largest of its kind in the UK, each award offers recipients £60,000 over three years – with no obligations or conditions as to how the money is used.

Individuals are nominated by their peers, who are either artists or recognised professionals in the music or visual arts sectors. Each year, a panel of four new judges selects the recipients on the basis of talent, promise and need, as well as achievement. The awards might be made at any point in an artist’s career.

The awards will continue to be a permanent feature of our funding to the arts and an expression of the Foundation’s belief in artists and the vital contribution that they make to our culture.

• 5 poetry awards
• 5 choreography awards
• 50 composer awards
• 115 visual art awards (including five duos)
• 10 Turner Prize winners
• 24 – age of the youngest ever recipient (Nick Relph, visual artist, 2003, with Oliver Payne)
• 80 – age of the oldest ever recipient (Gustav Metzger, visual artist, 2006)
• £7,220,000 total investment over 25 years

Click here to explore the timeline below and meet the recipients of Awards for Artists over the past 25 years.