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It is for this reason that it is of great importance to support those artists who have the potential to produce important works, but do not have the funding to make their work known. The Woolgather Art Prize is a new art award launched by an arts collective in Leeds to promote the work of contemporary artists at early stages in their careers.
The prizes are small, only £100 - £250, but the aim is to draw attention to new art in West Yorkshire. Funded by other artists and generous donations, the prize is voted for and awarded by members of the public, and as such draws public attention to new art and to new artists. It may not be much and it may not be showcasing the next Emin, but the Woolgather Art Prize is important in that it could potentially bring a budding great to the fore who would not have been able to find exposure without it.
To me though, it is a shame that it is necessary for artists to fund a prize themselves. I can appreciate that the current financial climate makes it extremely difficult, nigh on impossible to fund people who may not ever repay that investment. However, at the moment, the creative world is facing such severe cuts in funding that it may not recover for a great deal longer than it needs to. ‘Creativity’ may not be a financially welcoming concept for the people who choose where the country’s money goes, but, aside from arguments that art, literature, performing arts and cultural history provide a great deal of the country’s income, it is also possible that we are in danger of dampening the country’s creativity beyond redemption. I think that encouraging the nation to believe that creativity is less important than profit is a dangerous thing, particularly in a country which had such pride in its rich cultural heritage.
Of course it is essential to keep the country running efficiently and without a flourishing economy it is difficult to support the arts, but such severe cuts are very damaging, and that is why the Woolgather Art Prize, while a drop in the ocean, is important. The art world is difficult to be a success in at the best of times and now, at the worst, art and artists need even more support.
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