Two Awards were made this year

James Aldridge at Barts Hospital

James Aldridge created a series of painted screens framing the windows of the second floor waiting room.  In creating this work, he has drawn together influences from ancient Roman frescoes and nineteenth century French wallpaper.  He has also chosen to depict ‘twilight’ because, as he explains: “It is a magical, almost unreal time. I wanted the play of light on the screens to allow the landscape to appear to change rather than being fixed at a certain point. I hope the layers within the work will provide viewers with a visual journey and space for contemplation.

Rose Finn-Kelcey at St Paul’s Church, Bow

Finn-Kelcey's work was part of the Art and Sacred Places 2003/4 Programme when three artists were invited to make new works for three major churches in the south of England. Rose Finn Kelcey developed ‘Angel’ as a response to the minimal architecture of the 1960s built church, situated at a busy crossroads in Bow. She used shimmer discs, of the kind normally used in billboards or theatre signs, to create a sparkling wall that illuminated at night with the emoticon of an ‘angel’.

When the wall was taken down after 6 months, people talked about how it had affected the area:

"She understood the community, took us as we are and respected us."
"They didn't just accept it, they were proud of it."
"There was grieving when it was taken down."
"That road became a sacred place."
"So much angel dust came off it. The whole process was a spiritual one.” (from the obituary of Rose Finn-Kelcey, who died in 2014).