Excerpt from The Guardian:
The shortlist for the Brookfield Properties Craft Award has been revealed. The final winner will be announced during the Collect Craft Fair in London at the end of February. The five artists shortlisted for the prize have been judged to have made a significant contribution to contemporary craft and making in the UK. They stand to win £60,000, have a solo British show in summer 2022 and one of their works will be purchased for the UK’s Crafts Council’s prestigious collection.
From the shortlist, Anthony Amoako-Attah and Dawn Bendick both work with glass, though Amoako-Attah uses powered glass to produce pieces that look like fabric and Bendick’s dichroic glass sculptures play with light and colour. Two other finalists work with textiles. Cecilia Charlton’s embroideries are inspired by feminism, the history of textiles and time; Christian Ovonlen’s silk hangings reference Ballets Russes and theatre productions from the 19th and 20th century. The remaining finalist is Irina Razumovskaya, a Russian-Israeli ceramic sculptor whose architectural works have an innovative, glazed finish.
“The shortlist reflects a shared appetite of the Crafts Council and Brookfield Properties for the exciting diversity of craft being made today,” said Rosy Greenlees, executive director of the Crafts Council. “I look forward to the winner being announced.”
Self-taught Ghanian artist Amoako-Attah had a particularly charming response to the news he’d been shortlisted. “To win this award would be a massive step in my life, as my source of happiness is making work in the studio. Being part of the shortlist signals that the future is bright when determination, love, dedication, and creativity fuel our dreams.”
The winner will be announced on 24 February at Somerset House, London, the venue for the Crafts Council’s Collect 2022 art fair
