The Platform Graduate Award 2019 awarded to Imogen Marooney

CVAN South East, in partnership with four leading galleries from the South East, is thrilled to announce that Imogen Marooney, graduate of the Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, is the winner of this year’s Platform Graduate Award. Imogen was nominated by Aspex in Portsmouth, where her work can be seen in exhibition until 22 December.

The Jury who selected Imogen from a shortlist of four artists comprised of guest selector and artist Mikhail Karikis, and representatives of the partners Aspex, MK Gallery, Modern Art Oxford and Turner Contemporary.

Artist Mikhail Karikis had this to say:

The work presented to us by this year’s shortlisted artists was outstanding. From Sian Hookins’s imaginative sculptures drawing on the intricacies of our bodies and our relationships with them, to Amy Richardson’s deeply touching work centring on homelessness, disability and social injustice, Natalie Andrews’s ambitious sculptural and painterly environments, and Imogen Marooney’s participatory workshops, poetry, and her playful and continually re-cycled paper sculptures, all art practices were original, imaginative and thought provoking. All our shortlisted artists are promising, ambitious and with much potential; and I look forward to seeing them develop and to exhibiting alongside them in the near future.

Jo Bushnell, Director at Aspex and Chair of CVAN South East added:

We are excited that the award has gone to the Oxfordshire-based Imogen Marooney, a tremendous achievement in a strong field of nominees. As a panel, we were moved by the deeply considered ethical rational of her work, prioritising shared human activity and the ephemeral over the enduring material object. I have no doubt the mentoring support and the artist’s bursary that comes with the award, will enable Imogen to find her feet and build on her practice now that she has completed her studies.

Winner Imogen Marooney comments:

Being part of Platform has been a wonderful experience, I am so grateful to win this award, and to have met so many amazing people along the way – the community we have formed is a precious thing. To Aspex, Winchester School of Art and to everyone who has been there for me, I want to thank you all, I would not be here without each and every one of you.

Dr John Gillett, Programme Leader Fine Art at Winchester School of Art says:

I am immensely proud of Imogen. She was throughout her three years with us one of the hardest working and committed art students that we have ever had on the programme. She richly deserves this. I am fully confident that she will take every advantage from the mentoring and the prize that she has won.

Imogen receives a twelve month professional development and creative mentoring package, supported by the participating Platform galleries, plus a bursary of £2,000 to support her creative and professional development.

The Platform Graduate Award continues to represent the top emerging artists in the region. Twenty-three graduate artists from fourteen universities across the South East were selected and exhibited at the partner galleries between September 2019 and January 2020. Each gallery nominated one of their exhibiting artists to be considered for the award, and the winning artist was selected by the Jury following an interview process.