#49 Helen Robertson, 2024 Jonathan Harvey Tenant Award
50 opportunities for 50 years
“I feel privileged to be this year’s recipient of the Jonathan Harvey Tenant Award. It comes at a time when works from the history of my practice are resonating with and feeding new work.”
Helen Roberston has worked from an Acme studio for 30 years, alongside teaching Fine Art at Central Saint Martins and Camberwell College of Arts. Through mixed media installations and performances her recent work explores relations across women, architecture and wider ecologies.
Helen is the 2024 recipient of Acme’s Jonathan Harvey Tenant Award. The award recognises the need to provide transformational support for artists at all stages of their careers. In doing so, it looks to address the difficult circumstances facing established artists by offering an Acme artist tenant with a sustained practice an opportunity to develop or make a step change in their work. This annual award highlights the continued contribution of artists with long-term practice to London’s creative ecosystem, honouring Acme’s retired Co-Founder Jonathan Harvey OBE.
The award will enable Helen to explore ideas across abstraction, politics and the kinaesthetic; including new work with woven textiles and a related danced choreography. For Helen, the award is also “hugely supportive on a personal level.”
“It is hard for mature artists who are not represented by a gallery to get support for their work as the majority of opportunities and financial support is aimed at young artists. This means that the rich work of many experienced practitioners is overlooked."