#13 Hannah Morgan, 2023 Adrian Carruthers Award
50 opportunities for 50 years
“From stone carving and metal work, to short narrative films and cast artifacts I explore material and process that stretch time and viscosity to reflect underland sites. These spaces are in flux, precarious and transformational, despoiled and problematic.”
Hannah Morgan makes sculptural installation looking at ideas of emergence and entanglement within underground spaces. In her current Animula (little soul), series she is examining psycho- geographic relationships of organisms, people, and material, using excavation as a starting point.
Hannah was selected for the 2022/23 Adrian Carruthers Award by a panel including independent cultural producer and commissioner Nephertiti Oboshie Schandorf, from a shortlist of six MFA graduate artists from Slade School of Fine Art, University of London. She currently shares a studio as part of Acme’s Early Career Programme.
“In the last few years, having my studies interrupted with Covid and becoming a mum for the first time, there have been quite a few adjustments. This award supports all of that and gives me agency not only to find balance, but to space to develop my practice and work for upcoming shows.”
The Adrian Carruthers Award is a partnership between Acme and Slade School of Fine Art, University of London generously supported by the Adrian Carruthers Memorial Fund. This award was instigated by Adrian Carruthers’ family with the goal of providing a bridge between college and professional practice for MFA graduates from Slade School of Fine Art. The award includes a bursary, rent-free studio space and mentoring programme tailored specifically to the graduate’s practice. ⠀
“Early stage artists, straight out of MA programmes, need to find a sense of solid ground. The shift outside of an institution can be unnerving, so to have support, mentoring and guidance from peers, practitioners and people in the arts, is pivotal.” Hannah Morgan
Hannah’s first impression of the studio is that it “feels intrinsically generative as it has both shared and personal space to make work.” She is currently working towards a sculptural installation which will be shown at Xxijra Hii Gallery in June, as well as a collection of writing to be published this year. Alongside this, she is continuing to develop a larger body of research and work on mining residue in the landscape in Wales.
“This award has given me time and space to develop ideas, explore, and continue making connections. It is an enormous relief to have this alongside a new community of practitioners.”