#24 Acme's Alternative Pathway Awards
50 opportunities for 50 years
Acme’s Alternative Pathway Awards are a Genesis Kickstart Fund project, supported by the Genesis Foundation. The awards were created to support artists within their first five years of practice from groups currently underrepresented in the arts. The recipients were selected from an open call held during summer 2022.
“Like most working people in the capital, especially those from working class or poor backgrounds, we can feel the crisis of housing and space in the city and we know how it affects our lives, both professionally and personally. Opportunities like the Alternative Pathway Awards are important to artists as they meet the fundamental need of having workspace in which to work!” Dita Hashi
The three selected artists were Dita Hashi, Elora Kadir and Natasha Muluswela. Dita works across moving image, painting and writing, which she uses to explore riots, insurrections, martyrdom and (the impossibility of) citizenship. Elora uses a variety of media, such as drawing, photography, video and installation, to focus on her lived experience with disability and how this informs her daily encounters. Natasha’s intricately detailed pencil drawings explore the diversity of beauty and body positivity whilst simultaneously shaking off the sexualisation of the female body.
“For me, bridging the gap between art school and professional practice is really important [...] In my first few weeks of receiving the award, I’ve already felt a lot more informed about just how diverse London’s art scene is and how my art practice might fit in.” Elora Kadir
These three artists shared a studio for six months at Acme’s Warton House building and received mentoring and support from Shamica Ruddock, the recipient of Acme x OSE Fellowship. This a partnership with Open School East intends to create links between artists at different stages of their careers.
“Opportunities like this are so vital to an early artist's career because it's very difficult to navigate the art world by yourself. Having guidance and an oversight of other creatives and mentors means that not only can you fully immerse yourself in your work, but you also have the support of the Acme community and the financial backing to do it.” Natasha Muluswela
These awards will culminate with the exhibition Time, Labour, Process at Unit 1 Gallery | Workshop, curated by Shamica Ruddock and opening on Thursday 15 June 2023, 6-9pm.
Spanning moving image, installation and pencil drawings, the works address themes of labour, uprising, bureaucracy, violence and migration. Time, Labour, Process celebrates the three artists’ shared experiences and individual practices, having been brought together by the Alternative Pathway Awards.
The exhibition will run from Friday 16-Saturday 24 June, open Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm.