Falmouth Fine Art tutor wins Jerwood Drawing Prize 2010

Virginia Verran, part-time tutor on University College Falmouth's BA(Hons) Fine Art course was announced as the First Prize Winner in the prestigious Jerwood Drawing Prize 2010 at the opening ceremony of the exhibition in London and awarded £6,000 for her drawing, Bolus-Space (signal).

The Jerwood Drawing Prize is the country's leading award in drawing, and is the largest and longest running annual open exhibition dedicated to drawing in the UK with entries from established artists as well as relative newcomers and students fresh from art school.

Virginia commented: "The Jerwood Drawing Prize is a highly respected annual exhibition with a huge application and an unmissable show. It is very diverse and really opens up the debate about what constitutes drawing today. It is terrific to have won it and is a great vote of confidence in the new work I am making."

Just under 3,000 entries were submitted this year for consideration by the distinguished panel of selectors including Charles Darwent, Art Critic, Independent on Sunday; Jenni Lomax, Director of the Camden Arts Centre; and Emma Talbot, artist. Virginia's work, along with that of the 70 short-listed artists will initially be shown at Jerwood Space, London from 29 September to 7 November 2010 before touring nationally to Cheltenham, Berkshire, Carmarthen and Durham.

Virginia was born in Falmouth and attended both Penryn and Falmouth school before embarking on her art studies as a student on the Foundation Diploma at UCF. She then went on to gain a BA in Fine Art from Winchester School of Art and a MA in Painting from Chelsea College of Art, London.  She has exhibited in a number of solo and group exhibitions in Great Britain and internationally. Selected solo shows include; Francis Graham-Dixon Gallery, London; Henie-Onstad Kunstcenter Olso, Norway and Newlyn Gallery, Cornwall.  Selected group shows include; John Moores, Liverpool; Whitechapel Open, Whitechapel Gallery, London; Gallery HOT, Osaka, Japan and the Jerwood Drawing Prize 2009, Jerwood Space, London. Virginia teaches at University College Falmouth, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London and Slade School of Art, London.

Virginia recently showed further work from the Circle Series at the Eagle Gallery, London. www.emmahilleagle.com and more of her work can be viewed at www.virginiaverran.com

Virginia's description of her winning work is clear and concise; "Intuitions · layers · planes · demarcations · nations · symbols · threats · bombardments · pointings · ponds · settlements · migrations · repetitions".

The Jerwood Exhibition also includes work by George Young who graduated from BA(Hons) Fine Art at UCF in 2003. George is represented by the Crisp Gallery and last year held one-man exhibitions in London and Los Angeles.

The Jerwood Exhibition

29 September to 7 November 2010
Jerwood Space
171 Union Street
London SE1 0LN

Mon to Fri 10am to 5pm

Sat and Sun 10am to 3pm Closed Bank Holidays

Admission: Free 

Nearest tube: Southwark, London Bridge or Borough

Jerwood Visual Arts will host a series of Monday evening events to accompany the exhibition starting at 6pm on 4, 11 and 18 October 2010. Events are free but must be booked in advance. Jerwood Space is participating in the 2010 Big Draw and will host events on 22 and 23 October.

The Jerwood Drawing Prize is part of Jerwood Visual Arts

Jerwood Visual Arts is a contemporary gallery programme of awards, exhibitions and events at Jerwood Space, and on tour nationally. Jerwood Visual Arts promotes and celebrates the work of talented emerging artists across the disciplines of drawing, painting, sculpture, applied arts, photography and moving image.

www.jerwoodvisualarts.org 

The Jerwood Charitable Foundation is dedicated to imaginative and responsible revenue funding of the arts, supporting emerging artists to develop and grow at important stages in their careers. The aim of their funding is to allow artists and arts organisations to thrive; to continue to develop their skills, imagination and creativity with integrity. They work with artists across art forms, from dance and theatre to literature, music and the visual arts. For more information visit www.jerwoodcharitablefoundation.org 

Drawing Projects UK was established in 2009 by Anita Taylor, Co-Founder of the Jerwood Drawing Prize (originally Cheltenham Open Drawing Exhibition) and Director of the National Art School, Sydney. Drawing Projects UK aims to develop, organise and promote projects in drawing that contribute to and enhance knowledge and understanding of drawing in the UK.

For further information about BA(Hons) Fine Art at University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/fineart , email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 214376.

UCF is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the right to award degrees in its own name.  The University College has two campuses - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns and jointly manages with the University of Exeter).

UCF's merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008 created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Dance, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing.  The Dartington-based courses have now relocated to an impressive, high-specification £19M Performance Centre at the Tremough Campus, which launches this October.  The European Union's Regional Development Fund invested £12,266,667 in this development which will prepare performance students for success within the creative industries.  The South West Regional Development Agency's Single Pot Fund contributed a further £3M, with the remainder being invested by the Higher Education Funding Council for England's Strategic Development Fund.

The Performance Centre is the latest phase in UCF's ambition to create a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2013/2014 that will be unrivalled in the South West.

UCF is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One and Convergence), the South West Regional Development Agency and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

Ends

For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby Dip CIPR MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email:  jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

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