New Light is a Yorkshire-based, privately funded, arts charity that celebrates and promotes the North of England’s rich artistic heritage and the quality of the art being produced in the region today by:
Recognising and rewarding the skills of Northern artists;
Encouraging interest in, and appreciation of, the contemporary art being produced in the North;
Demystifying art and making it accessible to everyone, particularly those with little or no exposure to visual art.
Exhibitions
Our main exhibition is a biennial prize exhibition at which significant prizes are awarded. The main prize is named after our Patron, Valeria Sykes, and is chosen by an independent panel of judges sourced from the art world. We also have a Patron's Choice Award, which Valeria Sykes selects, the Swinton Foundation Prize and Visitors' Choice Awards.
The Prize Exhibition opens in a significant art venue in the North of England before a tour of short-listed artists commences. New Light would like to improve upon the number of venues in the tour, and especially wishes to gain presence in the regions we are less well known in.
In addition to the Prize Exhibition, New Light tends to arrange at least one other exhibition between prize years to raise our profile and funds.
Art for All
The purpose of our Art for All arm is to increase engagement with art in the region. In the past, we have done this through workshops, talks and - for the first time in 2015 - a week-long project in a school.
Our intention is to move away from the workshops and to focus on the schools projects, and occasional talks. Both these activities are anticipated to coincide with the Prize Exhibitions.
The New Light Collection
The Collection is a body of work by artists who either live or were born in the North of England. The works can be borrowed by public spaces free of charge, and by corporate bodies in exchange for a donation.
The Collection is a new venture for New Light, and is yet to be launched. Our desire is for the Collection to be a significant body of work that is recognised as being the best body of work by northern artists.
