United Kingdom

2017 Winners

Sian Rycroft - The Aon Community Art Award Winner

Sian Rycroft

“I’d just like to say thank you to all at Aon, the Awards and Auction evening was a very enjoyable experience, and I am so grateful to you and the team for giving me to opportunity to take part on the programme and for giving me the award!”

Peter McEwan - The Aon Community Art Award Colleague Prize Winner

Peter McEwan

“To win the Colleagues Award has given my confidence an enormous boost. As 95% of my output is drawing to have digital photographs recognised as being of some worth has encouraged to be braver in the future.

The programme proved to be invaluable. Prior to this I had begun to realise that, even though I had just spent three years on the degree course, I needed more freedom than the role of an illustrator offered. The mentoring and the talks from gallery curators on the programme launch day helped me conclude that I needed to be creative but at my own pace and in my own environment.

As a consequence of winning the Colleagues Award and selling two pieces, am now able to build my own studio next to my house, which I have just started. Initially I will work from there for 7-8 months a year, producing pieces which will, hopefully, be sold in local galleries.

I feel Aon Art Award has been given me a gentle push in the right direction.”

The Artists in Italy Residency award 2017

For the second year, Artists In Italy kindly donated a residency award to promising artists at their studios and farmhouse on the border of Tuscany and Umbria, Italy.

At the Awards ceremony in May 2018, Amanda Nightingale presented two residencies awarded to Amy-Leigh Bird and Theodosia Hadjithekli both from the Glasgow School of Art.

Artists in Italy

For more information on Artists in Italy please see the acknowledgements page.