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Artists announced for Jerwood Open Forest

Date uploaded: April 13, 2016

Five UK artists have been selected to develop proposals for a major new £30,000 commission, as part of the Arts-Council funded Jerwood Open Forest initiative. This initiative aims to contribute to a national conversation about how contemporary visual artists engage with the environment today, and debates around critical practice and art in the public realm.

Rebecca Beinart, Magz Hall, Keith Harrison, David Rickard and David Turley will each receive a £2,000 research and development fee with which to expand on the concept of their proposals, test feasibility and explore potential sites within England’s Public Forest Estate.

They will benefit from a six-month research and development period - starting from now - at the end of which they will present their work in a group exhibition. The artist selected for the £30,000 commission will be announced during an exhibition in November. 

‘The range of imaginative approaches to forest environments represented by the five shortlisted artists is indicative of the rich inspiration such places inspire. The artists will each be embracing aspirations to bring new experiences into forests – whether by engaging with their human history, their relationship with their urban surroundings or through an intimate engagement with individual trees' - Joy Sleeman, selector.

For full details of the artists and their concepts click here.

David Rickard - 'We are all Astronauts', 2015. courtesy of the artist and Copperfield Gallery

David Rickard - 'We are all Astronauts', 2015. courtesy of the artist and Copperfield Gallery