Entries are now open for the 2019 Cordis Award, the biggest international award for tapestry weaving.
The prize fund has been increased to £8000 to reward ambitious and skilled use of tapestry weaving techniques and the organisers hope that the prize will attract both domestic and international entries from established artists working in the field of contemporary tapestry.
They are looking for works that are essentially woven, referencing traditional Gobelin techniques, but they need not be wholly constructed using this method. The competition encourages ambitious and non-conventional applications of tapestry weaving, in two or three dimensions, wall hung or free standing, using traditional, new or found materials.
The exhibition of shortlisted entries will be held in the stunning setting of Inverleith House Gallery, at the heart of Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden. Formerly the home of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Inverleith House is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and engaging galleries in Europe. We are delighted with this new setting for the exhibition of the shortlisted Cordis Prize tapestries, and we look forwards to receiving submissions of contemporary tapestry weaving from around the globe
The shortlist will be drawn up by our prestigious panel of guest selectors with specialist knowledge of woven tapestry.
Miranda Harvey, who co-founded the Cordis award with husband Ian Rankin, has been an amateur weaver for several years and will once again convene the judging panel consisting of: Fiona Mathison, former head of Tapestry at Edinburgh College of Art and former artistic director at Dovecot Studios, Jo Barker, internationally renowned tapestry artist and winner of the 2017 Cordis Prize, internationally acclaimed fashion and portrait photographer David Eustace, and Charlotte Higgins, chief culture writer for The Guardian.
The 2019 prize, at £8000, is the largest in the world for this art form. The winner will be announced at an exclusive event at Inverleith House in March 2019, and the exhibition of international shortlisted works will run until the end of May 2019.
Ian Rankin, trustee of the Cordis Trust, launched the next and biggest Cordis Prize for Tapestry earlier this year.
Inverleith House
He said: ‘The trustees are delighted that the Cordis Prize will once again bring the best of world tapestry to Edinburgh next year.
‘The 2019 exhibition will enable the public – local, national and international – to see these magnificent pieces in the equally magnificent setting of Inverleith House.
‘I’m pleased and grateful to be working with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh who have enabled us to bring this unique exhibition and prize to the city.’
Sir Muir Russell, chair of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, said: ‘We welcome The Cordis Prize to Inverleith House.
‘This beautiful location provides a fitting setting for what I’m sure will be stunning works of art, and we look forward to welcoming visitors from across Scotland and around the globe.’
Edinburgh is a world centre for tapestry weaving. Many artists of international repute trained at the Edinburgh College of Art, where Archie Brennan and Maureen Hodge developed a cutting-edge degree course in the 1960s.
Submission details are available now and the online application portal is available HERE. The deadline for entries is 11 January 2019.
For more details click HERE.
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