Sunday, April 27, 2025

Parker’s prize is first for University of Lincoln artist

University of Lincoln’s BA Fine Art programme graduate Parker White has has become the University’s first artist to win the highly esteemed Freelands Painting Prize 2024.

He’s one of only  12 artists nationwide to be selected for this accolade, chosen anonymously by an independent jury made up of artists, writers, and critics.

The Freelands Painting Prize, organised by the Freelands Foundation, is an annual celebration of exceptional painting talent from art schools and universities across the UK. Launched in 2020, the award seeks to spotlight outstanding studio practices emerging from higher education institutions, helping to shape the Foundation’s understanding of how curriculums and conditions influence early career artists.

This year’s award received a record 53 submissions, reflecting the vitality and creativity thriving in the painting practices nurtured at universities despite ongoing challenges in art education across the country. Each participating institution was invited to nominate a final-year student to submit three representative works of their artistic practice.

Parker said: “I’m really grateful for this and I look forward to what it can grant me going forward with my art career. It feels like a great validation towards my practice and a massive motivator to keep doing what I love.”

Andrew Bracey, Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at the University of Lincoln, said: “I am thrilled Parker has been selected for the Freelands Painting Prize, marking a historic moment for the University of Lincoln. Their paintings address contemporary concerns by reimagining historical artworks through a queer or hypersexual male gaze, reclaiming trans bodies, and challenging cis-heteronormative standards. Parker manipulates physical forms and uses vibrant colour palettes to create distinctive and exciting paintings that blend personal and political themes.”

As part of the prize, Parker’s work is now being showcased at the Freelands Foundation’s gallery space in London. The 2024 exhibition opened on October 1 with an artist walkthrough, where attendees had the opportunity to hear directly from the winners about their exhibited pieces and the impact of their art school experiences on their practice. The exhibition is open to the public until November 9.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our news site - please take a moment to read this important message:

As you know, our aim is to bring you, the reader, an editorially led news site and magazine but journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them.

With the Covid-19 pandemic having a major impact on our industry as a whole, the advertising revenues we normally receive, which helps us cover the cost of our journalists and this website, have been drastically affected.

As such we need your help. If you can support our news sites/magazines with either a small donation of even £1, or a subscription to our magazine, which costs just £27.55 per year, (inc p&P and mailed direct to your door) your generosity will help us weather the storm and continue in our quest to deliver quality journalism.

As a subscriber, you will have unlimited access to our web site and magazine. You'll also be offered VIP invitations to our events, preferential rates to all our awards and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Just click here to subscribe and in the meantime may I wish you the very best.

Advertisment












Latest posts

Burning Sensations unveil new cost-effective pellet stove

Burning Sensation Fireplaces are incredibly excited to unveil the latest addition to their showroom. With environmental concerns being high on consumer’s minds, introducing ‘Peggy’...

Truckfest drives into Lincoln for early May bank holiday

Car-crushing monster trucks, death-defying stunt shows, special celebrity guests, fantastic family entertainment, live music, delicious food and drink, a huge variety of trade stalls...

Lincolnshire local takes on Manchester marathon

Natalie Freeman is a 38-year-old mother of two young daughters and a son. She lives in Lincoln with her children and husband of ten...

Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) completes busiest March on record

LNAA were called to 153 emergencies in March 2025, compared to 123 in 2024 and 139 – the highest previously recorded – in 2023. The...

Freemasons buy £25,000 vehicles for volunteer blood bikers

Freemasons have given two new vehicles to Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes Service to help sustain their voluntary work in ferrying urgent supplies and documents...

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close