Previous South West Showcase exhibitions have been awarded to:
Maud Craigie - 2020
Eleanor Duffin - 2020
Simon Bayliss - 2018
Laura Phillips - 2018/9
Stuart Robinson - 2017
Oliver Sutherland - 2017
Marie Toseland - 2015
Kit Poulson -2015
Abigail Reynolds - 2013
Bryony Gillard - 2013
Hannah James - 2013
Marie Toseland, pushin’ sumthin’ nice (feat. Kinlaw), South West Showcase 2015
Artist feedback:
The highlight of SWSC for me was the year long support and mentoring that the award provided, not only from the Gallery team, but also with other peers and professionals within the visual art field that engaged in dialogue about the work. These connections extend beyond the duration of the award and become the foundations for other threads of thinking and new work. I feel very lucky that it has also brought into focus the visual art scene within the whole of the South West and allowed me to make connections with other makers within this community. This award allowed me to grow my practice in an extremely supported way. It gave me the confidence to try a number of new processes, ways of thinking and disseminating my work. The unique facet of this award is the attachment to the art school and the wealth of knowledge, skill and resources that this can offer. Being able to try screen printing for the first time, for example, opened up a new way of thinking for me. As this award is familiar within the wider context of the national art community, I feel it gave me a platform to showcase my practice on a much bigger scale that I possibly could have managed alone. Phantoms of Form will continue to evolve and a new facet of the project will be developed for a solo exhibition at BUS Projects in Melbourne, Australia in early 2022.
Eleanor Duffin (SWSC 2020
This has been an amazing opportunity that has allowed me to bring together my most ambitious body of work to date and my first opportunity to see my work in a white cube gallery context. This platform has provided funds, access to specialist workshops as well as mentoring, technical support and professional guidance. This fund has allowed me to make more complex three screened work, as well as channelling skills I've learnt in the dark room into large textile works. I've have relished working with the amazingly creative, enthusiastic and helpful technicians at Plymouth College of Art. It's been all the best parts of being a student again, to focus on making work and access to the facilities to do so. Being part of this programme has also given my work exposure to the wider Plymouth College of Art audience network; new curators, writers and press contacts, which hopefully will fruition into new opportunities and insights into the work. The Gallery team have helped pushed and shaped this project with professional diligence and care. With their support I was successful in securing my first GFA grant, for a series of projects that develop from this project.
Laura Philips (SWSC 2018)
My exhibition for SWSC is the most ambitious I've made so far, bringing together all aspects of my practice in one room for the first time. Through working with a brilliant, supportive gallery team and making use of the amazing resources on offer, including college facilities (where much of the work has been made), I feel my work has reached a level I've always aspired towards.
Simon Bayliss (SWSC 2018)
Abigail Reynolds, New Light, South West Showcase 2013
South West Showcase was a wonderful opportunity, supporting the creation of a new body of work, allowing space for experimenting and then bringing it all together in a show. The experience changed my practice as I was able to present a more complex interrelation of painting, sound, writing and installation, which has developed further since. Throughout I was supported, encouraged, but also allowed space to do my own thing. All in all an excellent thing which I am very grateful to have been involved with.
Kit Poulson (SWSC 2015)
The SWSC was a huge step forward in my practice. It gave me the time, space, budget and support to realise a solo project on an ambitious scale and four years on, I still feel it is a key moment in my career so far. SWSC creates a highly visible platform for artists living in a regional context to present their work and provides vital mentoring and advice throughout the process. As the only award of this kind in the South West, it is extremely important and crucial to supporting artists in this region.
Bryony Gillard (SWSC 2013)
Bryony Gillard, In the boom of the tingling strings, South West Showcase 2013
SWSC was a great experience. It gave me the chance to develop a new body of work with critical and financial support and helped me push my practice into new areas. It was so rewarding to showcase my work at The Gallery to new and broader audiences.
Stuart Robinson (SWSC 2017)
The SWSC was a very rewarding experience. The institutional support and expertise on offer allowed me to create a really ambitious show and build important contacts that have been of enduring importance to my work. Through the associated events programme, I also had the opportunity to discuss my work at a high level (including an in-conversation with Martin Clark). The exhibitions team were very open to ideas and worked extremely hard to help me to realise what I wanted to show. It’s wonderful to work with people who have a passion to make things happen and really care about the result. I was able to take risks and am still working with ideas that I first tried out during SWSC.
Abigail Reynolds (SWSC 2013)
South West Showcase was a valuable opportunity for me to produce a new body of work and present it to a public audience. The funding, time, support and space attached to the exhibition is a special resource, one which enabled me to develop my practice into a new, challenging direction.
Hannah James (SWSC 2013)