The Woon Prize

The OCA are always coming up with new ways for students to interact and learn from each other as well as the course material. It is also important that individual students take responsibility for contextualising their own practice in terms of their professional development and studentship, as well as the ideas and influences on the actual studio activity.
As a student, it is important that you have a sense of the nature of the course you are studying and where it is potentially leading you. It is useful to know not only what your fellow students are up to, but also what is happening in other institutions. For graduates, or those approaching the end of their studies, it is vital to consider what comes next and to colour in that reflection with an understanding of the field as it were.
Attending mid year student shows and end of year degree shows is a great way to get up close to student work and think about how your own work stands in relation to it. A great way to get a peak at early career or emerging artists is to have a look at the shortlists for some key art prizes aimed at recent graduates (to which you can of course apply in due course).
The new founded Woon Prize gives you an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone as the prize is awarded to final year undergraduates. The work is available to view at Gallery North until 19th September but the catalogue is on line and it is a great resource for OCA Fine Art students. Each shortlisted artist has written quite a long piece about themselves and there are plenty of images. The prize is incredibly generous and has attracted a strong field.

You can access the catalogue as a downloadable PDF from either of the links above.
Featured Image: Holly Hendry, winner of the prize 2013, http://hollyhendry.com/
Image in Post: Andrea McCartney, Shortlisted Artist