Jerwood Moving Image Awards to boost category

Digital moving image looks set to receive a boost to its standing in the arts world, with the inaugural Jerwood Moving Image Awards.

The scheme joins a handful of awards, such as Film London’s London Artists’ Film and Video Awards, which recognise excellence in this growing category. The scheme is the latest in arts charity The Jerwood Foundation’s visual arts awards portfolio, which includes ceramics, glass and drawing.

The judging panel, which comprises resident choreographer of the Royal Ballet Wayne McGregor, independent producer Marc Boothe, international graphic designer John Maeda, artist Jane Prophet, author and journalist Sukdhev Sandhu, and Wapping Project director Jules Wright, has this week whittled down more than 300 entries to a shortlist of 30.

According to Boothe, what separates this award from others is its attempt to find and nurture new talent, while opening up the genre to a wider audience.

‘It acts as a catalyst for risk- taking and pushes the boundaries of the art form. What’s been missing until now is the space for artists to experiment. Investing in the talent can really make a difference to someone’s career,’ he says.

Entries, according to Boothe, have been chosen on a number of criteria including technical and production skill, originality of concept, imaginative value, artistic merit, concept, theme, use of media and platform, as well as software. ‘It’s about using a whole blend of techniques, styles and tools in a clever way,’ he says.

Design, Boothe says, plays ‘quite a huge role’ in the process. ‘It’s the DNA of how to use all the elements to create a new pattern and a new way of seeing things,’ he adds.

Shortlisted pieces, each lasting between one and ten minutes, feature a range of genres including animation, dance, installation, music video and documentary, combining a variety of techniques and styles including sound, photography, stills, animation, text and graphics.

Several entries feature a fusion of techniques. Richard Forbes-Hamilton’s The Final Act of Geng Yaoting brings together digital technology and oil painting, while Magali Charrier’s Tralala uses a mix of animation and live action.

Other entries, such as Monoclock by Robert Shaw, which features a playful depiction of the secret life of a digital clock, has been noted by judges for its ‘original concept’.

Shaw says he is pleased with the exposure the prize will bring, opening up his work to new audiences. ‘The spectrum of [digital media] work allows you to put it anywhere. It’s not like a gallery, it can be in a hundred places at once,’ he says.

Eight finalists will be chosen from the shortlist in February, with three winners, each receiving £10 000, to be announced on 4 March. Finalists’ work will be streamed on-line and will be showcased at the Jerwood Space, London SE1, until 20 March.

Shortlisted artists

• David Blandy The White and Black Minstrel Show

• Rose Butler and Kypros Kyprianou One Lime Street

• Magali Charrier Tralala

• Chan Chi Cheung (Mr Clements) Goya and Marie

• Sophie Clements Evensong

• Nisha Duggal Machine

• Charlotte Eatock Kate Lunn

• Russell Etheridge Odd from Every Angle

• Richard Forbes-Hamilton The Final Act of Geng Yaoting

• Joseph Gerhardt and Ruth Jarman Magnetic Movie

• Vita Hewison Fold

• Laurie Hill My Life at 40

• Al and Al Interstellar Stella

• Johnny Kelly Procrastination

• Aaron Lampert and Thomas Hicks Loka – Safe Self Tester

• Joanna Laromani The Swing of the Lost Abuelitas

• Mototake Makishima Abandoned Time

• Trisha McCrae What Do We See

• Karen Palmer Mental Block

• Rosie Pedlow and Joe King Sea Change

• Angelo Picozzi 00/06:03:08 • Nicki Rolls LXR1 – 1171

• Robert Shaw Monoclock

• Marianna Simnett Unhinged

• Let Me Feel Your Finger First Francis

• Theodore Tagholm The Persistence of Vision

• Nicholas Tayler Kupe and the Whale

• Norman Wilcox Giessen Jump

• Georgina Wu And When the Light Fades I Shall Never Forget

• Michael Zauner It, God

Selected works can be viewed at www.jerwoodmovingimage.org