Installation view of the Summer Exhibition 2019 (10 June – 12 August)

Summer Exhibition 2019 prizes announced

Published on 23 June 2019

Printmaker, painter and sculptor Joe Tilson RA has won the 2019 Charles Wollaston award for the “most distinguished work” in the Summer Exhibition.

Each year the Royal Academy of Arts presents a number of significant prizes for outstanding works within the Summer Exhibition. Over £70,000 is offered in awards and prizes for every category of work in the exhibition, including sculpture, architecture, drawing, works on paper, painting, photography and prints.

This year the prestigious £25,000 Charles Wollaston Award has been won by Joe Tilson RA for Finestra Venezia. Established in 1978 and presented to the “most distinguished work” in the exhibition, it is one of the most significant art prizes awarded in the UK. The judges for this year’s award were Richard Deacon RA, Andrew Nairn (former Director of Modern Art Oxford), and Andrea Rose (former Director of Visual Arts at the British Council).

Tilson’s winning stained-glass work is made of 36 Murano glassworks and was created for the Grande Albergo Ausonia and Hungaria hotel in Venice.

Other prizes include the Jack Goldhill Award for Sculpture, won by Cathy Lewis for Orlando, The Jerwood London Original Print Fair Prize for a print in any medium, won by Bella Easton for Angel Heart, and the Rocco Forte Hotels Architecture Prize for an outstanding work of architectural design, won by Threefold Architects for From Forest to Façade, a Woodlands Survey.

Olga Polizzi, Director of Design at Rocco Forte Hotels and part of the judging panel said, “This beautiful, expressive drawing, which is hand drawn, clearly displays a thought process for sustainable building based on research and innovation. From the sketch of the proposed house, to the site survey drawings and calculations of the relationship between forestry, trees and building materials, it demonstrates an inspiring, holistic design approach by an emerging architectural practice.”

410 - FINESTRA VENEZIA, 2019
669 - FROM FOREST TO FACADE, A WOODLANDS SURVEY, 2019
458 - ORLANDO, 2019
1192 - ANGEL HEART, 2019

Other Summer Exhibition 2019 prizes

The British Institution Awards for Students
The British Institution Fund was established to promote excellence in the arts through the awarding of prizes to students. Work is assessed across a comprehensive range of creative disciplines from painting to architecture. Two prizes have been awarded this year by the trustees.
£5,000 Prize: Seungjo Jeong, Interface v1
£3,000 Prize: Bichsaem Kwon, The Tent

The Hugh Casson Drawing Prize
£5,000 for an original work on paper in any medium, where the emphasis is clearly on drawing.
Alexandra Blum, Goose Eye View

The Sunny Dupree Family Award for a Woman Artist
£4,000 for a painting or sculpture.
Marjorie Abela, Maya (from the series Seeing)

The Arts Club Award
£2,500 awarded to an artist aged 35 or under for a work in any medium except architecture. Awarded to two artists this year, who received a prize of £1,250 each.
Grace Mcmurray, George Michael
Melissa Kime, Superman has Delivered!

The BKI Architecture and Materials Prize
£2,500 awarded for a work celebrating material excellence.
Tonkin Liu, Opening Bridge to Crystal Palace Dinosaur Islands

The Rose Award for Photography
£1,000 for a photograph or series of photographs.
Hannah Collins, Nelson Mandela's Teenage Home, National Monument