Promoting northern talent

In 2007 I moved from London to North Yorkshire. I was astounded by the breadth of artistic talent but shocked at the low price of art compared to equivalent work in London. Work was selling for a quarter or even a fifth of what I had been paying in the south. I spoke to various artists and began to understand some of the challenges they were facing: a relative lack of exhibition space compared to the south and the widespread distribution of collectors (forced by the geography), that led many artists to either stop producing professionally or move out of the region.

So New Light was established in 2011. It’s a biennial prize exhibition held at a prestigious northern venue, with entries welcome from northern artists. We award some of the biggest prizes in the region, but more than that, we provide a showcase for northern artists. We are now exhibiting 84 works from 61 artists at the Bowes Museum in County Durham, which will then tour to the Mercer Gallery in Harrogate, and then a selection of works will travel to Panter & Hall Gallery in London in June.

We support the government’s idea of a northern powerhouse, bringing together the region’s population into a collective force to hold our own against London and the south east of England

The competition is open to all artists who live, studied or were born in one of the historical counties of the north of England, regardless of age, media or subject matter. We received a record number of submissions this year – just short of 2,000. To actually get into the exhibition, the work had to be scored highly by our judging panel. They scored every single entry with two key criteria in mind:

• Is the work underpinned by a great idea?
• Has the work been created using the application of practised skills? That is, is it a lucky fluke or does it look like it has been created by an artist who has tried, tried and tried again?

The Valeria Sykes Award is our main prize of £10,000 and is awarded to the artist judged to epitomise excellence in the application of artistic skills. There is also a £2,500 Patron’s Choice Award, selected by Valeria Sykes for her favourite piece in the exhibition. The Zillah Bell Printmaker’s Prize offers the winner an exhibition at Zillah Bell Art Gallery in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. The Swinton Foundation Prize is awarded to an artist not yet fully established in their career and includes a mentoring package from an established artist, professional advice and also the chance to further exhibit work. Finally, the tig Visitors’ Choice Award is actually three prizes, chosen by visitors at each of the exhibiting venues. The selected artists receive marketing support to help them promote their work more widely.

We are passionate about making art accessible to everyone and also run an Art for All programme which includes workshops with practising artists, talks with art experts, guided viewings and school projects. Our newest initiative is the New Light Collection, a permanent collection illustrating a wealth of talent from some of the best artists in the north of England. Offered free to schools, hospitals and other community groups, it is also available at a cost to corporate sponsors who would like to showcase and support art in the north of England.

So what’s next for us? With the support of some passionate people, we have achieved a lot in a few years, but there is still a long way to go. We support the government’s idea of a northern powerhouse, bringing together the region’s population into a collective force to hold our own against London and the south east of England. To that end we want to grow our presence in the north west and build on our existing networks. Ultimately, I would like New Light to become a recognised name across the UK, known for celebrating exceptional artistic talent.

Annette Petchey is Chief Executive of New Light.
www.newlight-art.org.uk