LUX Scotland is pleased to announce that the call for nominations for the 2021 Margaret Tait Award open on Wednesday 4 November 2020.
The Margaret Tait Award is Scotland’s most prestigious moving image prize for artists. Inspired by the pioneering Orcadian filmmaker and poet Margaret Tait (1918–99), the award recognises experimental and innovative artists working with the moving image, offering a unique avenue of commissioning and production support and providing a high-profile platform to exhibit newly commissioned work.
Deadline for nominations is Monday 6 December at 5pm.
This year’s selection panel is comprised of Alberta Whittle (2018 Margaret Tait Award recipient); Kim McAleese (Programme Director, Grand Union, Birmingham); Tina Fiske (Director, Cample Line, Dumfriesshire); Thomas Abercromby (artist and curator); Sean Greenhorn (Screen Scotland); and Kitty Anderson (Director, LUX Scotland, panel chair).
Established in 2010, the Margaret Tait Award is a LUX Scotland commission delivered in partnership with Glasgow Film, with support from Screen Scotland. The only award of its kind in Scotland, it allows LUX Scotland, Glasgow Film and Screen Scotland to make a lasting and meaningful impact on the careers of new filmmaking talent, support new commissions and forge new partnerships across the sector.
Each year, the Award is presented to an artist based in Scotland who has established a significant body of work over the past 5–10 years; is recognised by peers for their contribution to the artists’ moving image sector; and can demonstrate the significant impact that the award will have on the development of their practice. The recipient of the award will receive a £15,000 prize to produce ambitious new work, which is exhibited at the Glasgow Film Festival the following year and will subsequently tour with LUX Scotland, including a solo exhibition at LUX’s exhibition space in London.
Eligible artists are nominated through an open call process, which allows anyone (the general public, as well as arts professionals and artists) both within and outwith Scotland to put forward an artist. Nominations are assessed by a panel of artists and professionals from across the fields of the visual arts and cinema. Shortlisted artists are then asked to present proposals for the commission.
The 2021 award will be announced at Glasgow Film Festival. Emilia Beatriz, recipient of the Margaret Tait Award 2020, will present their new film in 2021 followed by a solo exhibition at LUX in London. Jamie Crewe, recipient of the Margaret Tait Award 2019, is currently exhibiting their award commission, Ashley (2020), at LUX’s exhibition space in London, which is available to visit until Saturday 19 December. Jamie is also exhibiting as part of the touring British Art Show 9 and was recipient of one this year’s Turner Bursaries.
Previous recipients have included Emilia Beatriz, Jamie Crewe, Alberta Whittle, Sarah Forrest, Kate Davis, Duncan Marquiss, Charlotte Prodger, Rachel Maclean, Stephen Sutcliffe, Anne-Marie Copestake and Torsten Lauschmann.
Who can be nominated?
- Artists who are based in Scotland
- Artists who have developed a significant body of work over the past 5–10 years and are at the cusp of a major impact on the artists’ moving image sector
- Artists who are contributing to the critical context of artists’ moving image production in Scotland at the time of nomination
- There is no age restriction
- We regret that we cannot accept nominations of artists who are students
How to nominate
Please send 200 words on the artist’s career to date, their impact on the sector and your reasons for nominating. Please include a link to the artist’s website or an online example of their work, as well as the artist’s email address and phone number.
Nominations should be sent by email only to [email protected]
Deadline for nominations is Monday 6 December, 5pm. The shortlist will be announced in January 2021. The recipient of the Margaret Tait Award will be announced at Glasgow Film Festival in 2021.
Full details about the Margaret Tait Award can be found here: http://luxscotland.org.uk/writing/margaret-tait-award-2021-open-for-nominations/
About the partners
LUX Scotland is a non-profit agency dedicated to supporting, developing and promoting artists’ moving image practices in Scotland. Working at the intersection of the contemporary visual arts and film sectors, its core activities include public exhibition and touring projects, learning and professional development for artists and arts professionals, distribution, commissioning and production support, research and sec- tor advocacy. From its offices based in Glasgow, it works with a growing network of national and inter- national partners, including museums, contemporary art organisations, film festivals and educational institutions, to deliver its programme. One of its current priorities is the establishment of a new distribution collection of artists’ moving image based in Scotland. Established in 2014, LUX Scotland is a part of LUX and is supported by Creative Scotland.
Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) is firmly established as a key event in the UK's film calendar. Having grown greatly in significance and as a key launching pad for films in recent years, the festival has leapt into the top three film festivals in the UK. GFF continues to grow and develop its international reputation. The 2020 festival will take place from 26 February to 8 March 2020.
Screen Scotland is the dedicated partnership for screen in Scotland. With £20 million from Scottish Government and the National Lottery, Screen Scotland is driving the cultural, social and economic development of all aspects of the sector in Scotland, through enhanced funding, services and support. Screen Scotland sits within Creative Scotland and is a partnership with Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Funding Council, working in close collaboration with the sector to ensure its success.
Header Image: Margaret Tait, Blue Black Permanent, 1992. Courtesy of the artist and BFI.