Seamus Harahan Wins 2015 Jarman Award with £10,000 Prize and Channel 4 Commission

Seamus Harahan, a Belfast-based artist filmmaker, received the Jarman Art Award at London's Whitechapel Gallery on 30 November 2015. The award includes £10,000 and a commission for Channel 4's Random Acts arts strand. Harahan's work, characterized by handheld filming that captures urban environments and street life, previously represented Northern Ireland at the 2005 Venice Biennale. He was selected from a shortlist of six artists: Adam Chodzko, Gail Pickering, Alia Syed, Bedwyr Williams, and Andrea Luka Zimmerman. All shortlisted artists also received Channel 4 Random Acts commissions. Simultaneously, the inaugural Jules Wright Prize for Female Creative Technician was launched, awarding £5,000 to cinematographer Noski Deville for her contributions to artists' films, including works by Steve McQueen, Isaac Julien, and Alia Syed.