#37 Barry Thompson Memorial Award
50 opportunities for 50 years
We are pleased to open applications for the Barry Thompson Memorial Award, kindly supported by the Thompson family in memory of artist and former Acme tenant, Barry Thompson.
Barry Thompson's work dealt with sites of memory both literally and psychologically, tackling themes of ideals/failure, hope/pessimism, fact/fiction and love/loss. He considered that attempting to work with these universal themes through the process of drawing enabled him to engage with personal memories on a very intimate scale. Barry lived and worked in London. He held an MA from the Royal College of Art and a BA from University of East London.
During his time as an Acme tenant, Barry was the recipient of the 2015/16 Jessica Wilkes Studio Award, which was particularly impactful for his practice. The Jessica Wilkes Award was in memory of artist and former Acme tenant, Jessica Wilkes, and took place between 2008-16. It provided artists with full rent relief on their Acme studio for one year, mentoring support and a bursary to support their practice over the year.
Upon receiving the award, he pointed to the importance of supporting dedicated studio time for artists:
“[The award] will give me the rare opportunity to spend more focused time in the studio without the burden of financial issues common to most artists. I am convinced that my practice will benefit from this and feel very privileged and humbled to be selected.”
It is the intention of the Thompson family to provide a similarly impactful opportunity. With a total value of £10,000 donated by the Thompson family, the award offers one year’s full rent relief, an artist bursary and professional development support for a mid-career Acme tenant who can demonstrate how the award would enable them to increase time spent on their studio practice.
Deadline for Applications is 12 noon Monday 16 October.