National Life Stories: Artists’ Lives

Jerwood Foundation is supporting National Life Stories: Artists’ Lives through the award of a grant of £15,000 to make three long-form life story recordings with important British artists in 2024 and 2025. This will continue to build upon Jerwood’s longstanding support of Artists’ Lives which began three decades ago with the sponsored life story recording of painter, Craigie Aitchison, who won the first Jerwood Painting Prize in 1994.

 

Artists’ Lives is part of National Life Stories (NLS), an oral history charity based in the British Library; the archive now comprises over 450 in-depth autobiographical testimonies with artists and art world professionals. This support for Artists’ Lives will enable the archive to stay faithful to its mission to be as inclusive in scope as possible: to capture voices from the centre as well as the margins of the art world. These life story recordings have such historic value as they continue to give artists the last word on their life and practice for posterity. Most recently, Jerwood funded the life story recordings of artists Bhajan Hunjan and Eileen Cooper.

 

Hester Westley, Project Director for Artists’ Lives said:

Nowhere else in the world exists an archive that contains artists’ life-story recordings of the length and breadth of those in Artists’ Lives. Jerwood’s steadfast and prescient patronage of Artists’ Lives means that these in-depth audio testimonies of today’s artists will shape the art histories of tomorrow. 

Lara Wardle, Executive Director and Trustee Jerwood Foundation said.

I am delighted that Jerwood Foundation is continuing its longstanding relationship with National Life Stories and has awarded a £15,000 grant to enable three further Artists’ Lives recordings. These recordings will form part of a richly rewarding oral history archive, which is invaluable to both researchers working today and future generations that follow.

 

For more information please visit British Library and for a list of interviewees please contact nls@bl.uk

 

 

December 17, 2024