Spike Island Wins 2018 Freelands Award for Veronica Ryan Exhibition

Spike Island in Bristol has been selected as the recipient of the 2018 Freelands Award, receiving £100,000 from the Freelands Foundation. The funding will support a solo exhibition of new work by Veronica Ryan scheduled for Autumn 2020. Ryan's exhibition will feature specially commissioned pieces alongside recreated early works that were lost in the 2004 Momart warehouse fire in east London. The presentation will be accompanied by a three-month artist residency and a symposium designed to engage new audiences through participatory discussions. Established in 2016, the Freelands Award provides financial assistance to regional arts organizations for presenting large-scale exhibitions by mid-career female artists who have not yet received significant public recognition. The 2018 jury included Elisabeth Murdoch as chair, along with Martin Clark, Susan Hiller, Jenni Lomax, and Beatrix Ruf. Other shortlisted institutions for the award included Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Kettle's Yard in Cambridge, Metropolitan Arts Centre in Belfast, and Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield. The announcement was made on 22 November 2018.