Hilary Powell
Stephen Cripps Studio Award
2016/17
Hilary Powell works in collaboration with Daniel Edelstyn, alternating roles as producer, director, cinematographer. They established Optimistic Foundation CIC in 2018 to create ambitious projects inspired by the historical enchantment of urban landscapes and politics.
In 2017 they created an audio-visual symphony supported by the Acme 2016 Stephen Cripps Studio Award based on Wagner’s Ring Cycle and staged within the Thameside landscape. The film was performed with a live score made in collaboration with The Cabinet of Living Cinema and members of the Royal Opera House Thurrock Community Choir at Acme High House Production Park, Purfleet, Essex. Their work has been presented at Victoria and Albert Museum National Art Library, British Museum, MoMA New York, and British Film Institute. Powell is a tutor at Royal College of Art in Visual Communication.
Stephen Cripps Studio Award
The Stephen Cripps Award was a partnership between Acme and the Henry Moore Foundation between 2014-17. It provided artists with a rent free studio at Acme's High House Production Park studio building, mentoring support and a bursary to support their practice.