New art prize for the North East to be awarded

The winner of a new award showcasing the abilities of artists the North of England will be announced tomorrow from a shortlist of 24.

The New Lights Art Prize, worth £10,000, will be awarded at the Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate where an exhibition of the shortlisted entries is set to open next week.

The award winner will also receive guidance and mentoring from the competition’s judges, who include Kate Brindley, director of Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA), artist William Tillyer and Paul Hobsen, director of the Contemporary Art Society.

“It was very exciting to see such a diverse range of submissions, many of which were technically accomplished and some highly individual works, testifying to the breadth of artistic talent in the North,” Tillyer said.

New Lights intends to award a biennial prize to the northern artist aged 23-35 judged to be the most exceptional by the judges. This year’s prize is named the Valeria Sykes Prize after its main sponsor.

Click here or on the image to see the shortlist in pictures

UPDATE: The first artist to win the prize has been announced as Nat Quinn

For more information about the prize visit www.newlights.org.uk/prize