The Max Mara Art Prize for Women

In today’s world, where it becomes more and more important to support female artist due to an enormous predominance of men in this particular discipline, there is a growing awareness to support female artists. 
Without any doubt, it is time to give them even more power to perceive their dreams and, most importantly, to give them the chance to fulfill themselves and realise their artistic projects.

The Italian brand Max Mara and their The Max Mara Art Prize for Women, which was established by the Whitechapel Gallery in collaboration with the Max Mara Fashion Group over ten years ago, offers female artists from the UK the opportunity to further develop their creative potential and to make the most out of it.

That means, five UK female artists get the chance to propose their artistic ideas that they have in mind for a potential upcoming project to the prize’s jury consisting of Iwona Blazwick (Director of the Whitechapel Gallery), Fiona Bradley (Director of the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh), Sarah Elson (Collector and Founder of Launch Pad), Helen Sumpter (Critic and Senior Editor / Web Editor at ArtReview) and Alison Wilding (Artist and Royal Academician).
Accordingly, the chosen winner of this unique art prize gets the chance to realise an own project that is going to be presented in London’s Whitechapel Gallery 2017 as well as in Collezione Maramotti in Italy afterwards.

Ruth Ewan, Ana Genovés, Emma Hart, Tania Kovats and Phoebe Unwin are now waiting for the judge’s releasing final decision and their choice for this year’s Max Mara’s Art Prize.
Get to know the shortlist and their work here.

FINAL UPDATE – 4th February 2016

Emma Hart wins the Max Mara Art Prize for Women in collaboration with Whitechapel Gallery!
Dr. Luigi Maramotti announced Emma Hart as the winner of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women amid the applause of the crowd at the Whitechapel Gallery yesterday evening.

So, who is Emma Hart? Let’s get to know this year’s winner of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women!

Emma Hart, born in London in 1974, received an MA in Fine Art from Slade School of Art and completed her PhD in Fine Art at Kingston University three years ago. On top of this, she is currently a lecturer on BA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins. With regard to her fantastic work, the female artist covers ceramics, video, photography as well as sound.

Organised by Collezione Maramotti in collaboration with Max Mara and the Whitechapel Gallery, Hart will take up residency abroad and will spend six months in Italy including Milan, Todi and Faenza starting from June 2016 in order to create a completely new body of work that will be shown in a solo exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in 2017. After this, the artist’s work will be on display at Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia.

‘It was clear that Emma Hart’s proposal was a deeply personal subject key to her life and work: the power of the family. The jury were impressed with the depth and breadth of references in Hart’s approach, from the Milan System’s Approach of family psychotherapy to the novels of Elena Ferrante, to the Italian tradition of Maiolica ceramics. The Prize and residency in Italy offer Hart a rare chance at an important moment in her career, to enrich and develop a new body of work.’ – Iwona Blazwick, OBE, Director of the Whitechapel Gallery and chair of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women jury

.Cent Magazine congratulates Emma Hart!