News Story
Now in its fifteenth year and inspired by Derek Jarman, the prestigious £10,000 Jarman Award prize celebrates the pioneering work of the UK’s foremost artist filmmakers.
The artists selected for shortlist this year are:
Composite of portraits of Jarman Award 2022 shortlisted artists. (Top left to bottom right) Alberta Whittle, Onyeka Igwe, Morgan Quaintance, Rosa-Johan Uddoh, Jamie Crewe, Grace Ndiritu
The Film London Jarman Award is central to our support of artist filmmakers and we are thrilled to reveal this year’s shortlist. Risk-taking in both subject matter and form, the 2022 shortlist showcases a diversity of themes that question and articulate the world around us. Congratulations go to all six shortlisted artists and I would like thank our funders, Arts Council England, as well as returning partner Whitechapel Gallery for their vital support.Adrian Wootton OBE, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission
From naked choreography set in a de-militarised industrial architecture to a rural horror filmed on the West Coast of Scotland, the 2022 Jarman Award shortlist is risk-taking in both subject matter and form. Restless hand-drawn animations with pulsing music and flashing images are seen alongside more intimate works shot in black and white that recall adolescent drug-taking in suburban London. A humorous two-handed drama tackles with powerful directness issues around racial ‘passing’ whilst a film that resembles both detective noir and corporate video explores the decomposing buildings that house colonial archives in both Lagos and Bristol.
Films document community choirs, appropriate Agatha Christie stories and adverts for face cream, explore research into psychedelic drugs and record real conversations with friends. From climate change and colonial history to pandemics, poverty and migration, artists on the 2022 shortlist are not afraid to confront turbulence, but there are also messages of hope and resilience with films that posit alternative paths from shamanism and spirituality to self-compassion and healing.
Composite of stills from work by the Jarman Award 2022 shortlisted artists. (Top left to bottom right) Alberta Whittle, Jamie Crewe, Morgan Quaintance, Rosa-Johan Uddoh, Onyeka Igwe and Grace Ndiritu
Resonant with the legacy of Derek Jarman, this year’s shortlisted artists impressed the jury with their boldly experimental films. Collectively, they offer a rich combination of performance and story-telling, montage and animation, music and humour. Often drawing on collective endeavours, they blow the dust from archives to spotlight lost histories and navigate the rich and complex tributaries of origin and identity.On behalf of the Jury, Iwona Blazwick OBE, Emeritus Curator, Whitechapel Gallery
Now in its fifteenth year, the Award has built an enviable reputation for spotting rising stars of the UK art world. Previously shortlisted artists include Heather Phillipson, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Oreet Ashery, Duncan Campbell, MonsterChetwynd, LukeFowler, Imran Perretta, Charlotte Prodger, Laure Prouvost, Elizabeth Price, James Richards, and Project Art Works all of whom went on to be shortlisted for or to win the Turner Prize.
The winner of the Jarman Award will be announced the week of 21st November 2022. In the run-up to the event, art and film lovers can explore the work of the shortlisted artists through a nationwide touring programme presented in partnership with a variety of our cultural venues, including the Whitechapel Gallery.
The Jury who selected this year’s shortlist are: Iwona Blazwick OBE, Emeritus Curator, Whitechapel Gallery; Matthew Barrington, Cinema Curator, Barbican; Shaminder Nahal, Commissioning Editor, Arts and Topical, Channel 4; Artist and 2021 Jarman Award Winner, Jasmina Cibic and Nicole Yip, Chief Curator, Nottingham Contemporary and Film London Board Member.
