LONDON.- Jerwood Charitable Foundation and Forestry Commission England announced that Arts Council England is supporting Jerwood Open Forest. The project initially offered five research bursaries of £2,000, developmental support from the teams at Jerwood Charitable Foundation and Forestry Commission England and an exhibition at Jerwood Space, London, in preparation for one project to be selected to receive a major £30,000 commission. Now, with the support of public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England’s Grants for the arts programme, an additional commission of £30,000 will also be produced and realised through the initiative. The selected commissions will be announced on 11 February 2014.

‘Jerwood Open Forest is a flagship initiative in Forestry Commission England's Forest Art Works programme and we are absolutely delighted that with this grant from Arts Council England, supported through public funding, we will able to realise not one but two of the exceptional artists' proposals on the Public Forest Estate.’ -- Hayley Skipper, Curator of Arts Development, Forestry Commission England.

‘Jerwood Charitable Foundation aims to create compelling opportunities for artists, partnering with unique organisations such as Forestry Commission England, and thinking differently together about the combined resources we can broker and provide. This grant from Arts Council England is a vote of confidence, recognising the scope of ambition of each artist in the Jerwood Open Forest shortlist. It is a privilege to be enabling two major commissions of £30,000.’ -- Shonagh Manson, Director, Jerwood Charitable Foundation.

The inaugural Jerwood Open Forest exhibition presents new work and charts five shortlisted projects over a six-­‐month period of research and development, and will be on display at Jerwood Space, London from 15 January -­‐ 23 February 2014. It examines art in the environment and what it has the potential to be in its broadest definition.

Juan delGado, Adam James, Amanda Loomes, artist duo Semiconductor (Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt) and Chris Watson collaborating with producer Iain Pate, have expanded on their ambitious proposals, engaging with forest sites across England, from Northumberland to Kent. In doing so the artists have produced engaging new bodies of work comprising sculpture, film, audio, and performance.


Jerwood Open Forest is a new initiative in the Jerwood Visual Arts programme launched by Jerwood Charitable Foundation and Forestry Commission England, now with additional support from Arts Council England. The initiative seeks to contribute to a national conversation about how contemporary visual artists engage with the environment today.