The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2021 exhibition

Out of all the submissions, 114 drawings were selected for the exhibition, which will open to the public from November 18th to December 5th at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London. The show will be exhibited at Trinity Buoy Wharf’s new event space within the historic Chainstore venue, set to open to the public for the first time. The works reflect a broad scope of contemporary drawing practice by artists, architects, designers, and makers at all stages of their careers- living and working in the UK as well as Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, The Netherlands, and the USA.

The exhibition includes 101 drawings selected by Sheela Gowda, Artist; Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art, National Galleries Scotland; and Zoé Whitley, Director of Chisenhale Gallery, London. The Working Drawing Award and display of 13 drawings was selected by Leonie Bell, Director of V&A Dundee; Charles O. Job, Designer and Architect; and Paul Finch, Programme Director of the World Architecture Festival.

One of the works selected for the exhibition is “Hidden Behind a Mask” by Freya Thompson: “With enforced lockdowns, self-isolation and illness, the psychological consequences of the COVID pandemic are prominent in society. Having started this project during lockdown and being withdrawn from the normalities of society, I wanted to produce a piece reflecting these current issues, I aimed to illustrate the physical and mental strain from being isolated and ‘locked down’; and ultimately questioning what’s really hidden behind a mask”

“Mary Seacole” by Habib Hajallie pays homage to Mary Seacole, known as one of the greatest Black Britons in history: “I believe her contributions towards Britain in the 19th century, particularly during the Crimean war, show a British pioneer that deserves even greater recognition”

“Obulamu bugenda mu maaso” (Life goes on) is a graphite drawing by Selina Pope. “Obulamu bugenda mu maaso” means “life goes on” in Luganda, the mother tongue of Norman Busigu whom this graphite portrait represents. “This portrait captures Norman at a defining stage of his life, having just received an offer to train as a solicitor. In this moment, a new world of possibilities had begun, represented by the growth of native Ugandan plants. At the same time, Norman understood the pressure of what was still to come- alluded to by the spider waiting patently to trap unsuspecting nearby fly (look to see if you can find it!)”

From the thousands of submissions, five of them received awards worth £27,000 at the Awards Ceremony in September: The First Prize- Gary Lawrence, Ye Olde Keyhole Surgery, 2020, The Second Prize- David Haines, Dark Balloons, The Student Award- Gabriela Adach, El Duende, The Working Drawing Award- Zahra Akbari Baseri, Sara, The Evelyn Williams Drawing Award- Roland Hicks, Double Chip / Shuffle Zip, 2021.

Valerie Abadie / Gabriela Adach / Marcelo Albagli / Claire Anscomb / Emily Ball / Federica Beretta / Victoria Clare Bernie / Jackie Berridge / Jules Bishop / Kate Black / Frances Aviva Blane / Caroline Blythe / Su Bonfanti / Georgia Boukla / Gavin Bowyer / Mark Boylan / Ann Bridges / Nell Brookfield / Chris Bruce / Ian Chamberlain / Kristina Chan / Yoonhee Choi / Philippa Clarke / Amy Collins / Karen Conway / Jacquetta Cook / Yvonne Crossley / Andrea Cryer / David Cutts / Hannah Davies / Robert Davies / Bob Deakin / Emma Douglas / Jo Dumpleton / Amy Dury / Jill Eastland / Laura Elkins / Paul Fenner / Fierce Fine Art / Craig Fisher / David Gardner / Zoe Gibson / James Gosling / Euan Gray / James Gregory / Bea Haines / David Haines / Habib Hajallie / Susie Hamilton / Ben Hancocks / Georgia Kitty Harris / Justin Harris / Lia Anna Hennig / Russell Herron / Denise Hickey / Roland Hicks / Harriet Mena Hill / Sandy Horsley / Yvonne Kay / Hannah Kokoschka / Jenny Laskowsky / Gary Lawrence / Cheryl Lewis / Esther Martínez Rey / Fiona Michie / Arianna Tinulla Milesi / Elizabeth Nast / Simon Nicholas / Sofia Nifora / Catherine O'Donnell / Patrick O'Rourke / Steve Payne / Freya Pocklington / Caroline Pool / Selina Pope / Alberto Repetti / Elwina Robinson / Xavier Robles de Medina / Gabriela Schutz / Mark Seely / Katy Shepherd / Mark Shields / Aleksandra Stepien / Natalia Stoyanova / Sam van Strien / Roma Tearne / Freya Thompson / Iva Troj / Rebecca West-Beale

Zahra Akbari Baseri / Joshua Bristow / Marc Brousse / Ian Chamberlain / Sheila Gaffney / Christopher Green / Georgia Kitty Harris / Jessica Heywood / Julie Menelaou / Esha Mittal / Quy Phu Nguyen / Alejandra Pascual

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize has an established reputation as the UK’s most important annual open exhibition of drawing. Led by its founding Director, Professor Anita Taylor, the exhibition is known for its promotion and celebration of excellence in contemporary drawing practice. The Prize provides an important platform for drawing, and for artists, designers, and makers serves as a catalyst within their careers. The annual exhibitions are selected by a roster of passionate and distinguished drawing experts – artists, architects, curators, designers, writers, and collectors.

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize is supported by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust, and 2021 marks the fourth year of their support for the annual open exhibition, which was founded in 1994.