Trio of Sheffield artists celebrate national award glory

Prizes to the value of £22,000 have been awarded, recognising the work of Penny McCarthy, Joanna Whittle and Conor Rogers.

Penny McCarthy was awarded the Evelyn Williams Drawing Award at this year’s Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize. Penny is a reader in fine art at Sheffield Hallam University, and will receive £10,000 and go on to hold a solo exhibition at the prestigious Hastings Contemporary in 2012-21, exploring events and archive specific to Hastings. Penny said:“I believe that the visual arts help us to understand who we are and to share that experience with others across time and place. It’s great to have the opportunity and support to be able to do this through this award.”Joanna Whittle was awarded British Contemporary Painting Award, which celebrates the best of contemporary painting produced in the UK.

Joanna is a painter based at Bloc Studios and will receive £2,000 prize money, a critical essay of her work written by lead judge Griselda Pollock and an invitation to become a member of the contemporary British Painting Network.Joanna said: “I am so honoured to be the winner of the Contemporary British Art Prize 2019! This award, alongside the support through the Making Ways project last year and my recent selection for the Freelands Artists Programme at Site Gallery will really help support my practice going forward. It’s a very exciting time.”Conor Rogers was named Robert Walters Group UK Young Artist of the Year, an award delivered in partnership with the Saatchi Gallery and charity UK Young Artists, which aims to discover and champion exceptional artists who are representative of contemporary Britain.Conor is an award winning Sheffield-based artist and graduate of Sheffield Hallam University. He was awarded a £10,000 cash prize and exhibition at Saatchi Galleries.Conor said: “My art practice started because I drew on the back of a crisp packet in the pub. By creating art on these random objects, I was able to understand the world and share my experience of it, and now I’m sharing that at the Saatchi Gallery.”