Anna Ray wins the 2021 Brookfield Properties Crafts Council Collection Award

26 February 2021

The textile artist scoops the coveted prize at this year’s Collect art fair

26 February 2021

Textile artist Anna Ray with her award-winning work Capture, 2020. Photo: Allun Callender

Anna Ray has won the second annual Brookfield Properties Crafts Council Collection Award for her colourful sculptures Capture and Weave, it was announced last night. The textile artist, who is represented by House on Mars Gallery at Collect art fair this year, created the work during and immediately after the first UK Covid-19 lockdown to bring ‘vibrancy and joy to people,’ she says.

The award – launched at Collect in 2020 – is a career-boosting prize for makers working in Britain and unique for the sector as it supports not only the individual artist, but their gallery and the Crafts Council. Ray and House on Mars Gallery will together receive a total of £25,500 and her works will be acquired for the Crafts Council Collection. The artist will also be given valuable curatorial and production support to exhibit at Brookfield Properties’ offices at 99 Bishopsgate and Aldgate Tower in the summer and autumn of 2021.

Weave, by Anna Ray, 2020, textile wall sculpture. Courtesy: House on Mars Gallery

Ray follows in the footsteps of artist Matt Smith (represented by Cynthia Corbett Gallery) who was awarded the inaugural prize at Collect 2020. She describes her process as ‘open and experimental,’ adding: ‘I have always been fascinated by fragments of ancient jewellery and museum collections, their structure and combinations of colour.’

Her multicoloured Capture – which she describes as an ‘upside-down jumbled rainbow’ – is evocative of the NHS rainbow that became a symbol of hope in the original national lockdown, though the resemblance is entirely coincidental. In this piece, which forms part of a new series titled Beadwork, ‘the colours appear as though they are trapped together in a net,’ she says. Following on from Capture, she began making strands for Weave out of stitched and padded cloth, inspired by a drawing she made years ago as well as the clothkits clothes and dolls of her childhood.

Ray is the second artist to have won the Brookfield Properties Crafts Council Collection Award. Photo: Allun Callender
House on Mars Gallery founder Vanja Bazdulj wearing Anna Ray’s Done Up necklace. Also pictured, Sensory Playground, by Zoe Robertson; Fat chair, by Lambert Kamp; and a wall panel (in background), by Juliano Cordano. Photo: Ceri Davies. Styling: Katie Phillips

For Ray, the award marks a pivotal moment in her journey with House on Mars Gallery founder Vanja Bazdulj. ‘We first connected at Collect in 2012 and it was an absolute meeting of minds – we decided there and then that we must work together,’ she says. ‘Nine years later, I am thrilled that our resulting collaboration has led to shared success.’ The artist acknowledges the timeliness of the prize, given the challenges of the pandemic, adding: ‘This boost of recognition and financial support is so welcome.’

Ray topped a strong shortlist that included artists Marcin Rusak (Sarah Myerscough Gallery); Archana Pathak (Ruup & Form); Elliot Walker (Vessel Gallery); and Chris Day (Vessel Gallery). Her work will soon be added to the Crafts Council Collection by Brookfield Properties, where it will reside alongside works by luminary textile artists Ann Sutton and Peter Collingwood, and other craft giants, including Magdalene Odundo and Edmund de Waal.  

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Visit the virtual 2021 Collect art fair

Brookfield Properties, a Canada-born, global business, is a committed supporter of the creative industries, investing in visual art, theatre, music, film and dance through its multifaceted arts programmes. ‘We prioritise support for craft because it is accessible, has the power to spark conversations and bring people together,’ says Brookfield Properties marketing director Caitlin Warfield. ‘In addition, we continually support the sector as, even though craft is a growing trend, many makers are losing income in these precarious times. The Crafts Council celebrates the energy of craft, preserving this form of creativity for future generations.’

Watch Anna receive her award in the Brookfield Properties Crafts Council Collection Award event.

Collect 2021 is live on Artsy.net from 26 February, with works on view and commissions available until 24 March. Follow the action online and on Instagram at @collectartfair.

Anna Ray wins the 2021 Brookfield Properties Crafts Council Collection Award

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