Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2023 – touring exhibition

AUB hang curated by Violet M. McClean and Millie Lake

Exhibition overview

TheGallery’s history with the Drawing Prize exhibition is a longstanding one, going back to 2005 when TheGallery first hosted it. In total we'll have hosted the Drawing Exhibition seven times to include this show. The prize is also celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

Known as the UK’s most prestigious annual open exhibition for drawing, the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize received 3,000 submissions from 1,450 candidates located across the world for its 2023 edition.

A total of 124 works by 111 drawing practitioners, chosen by two distinguished Selection Panels will be shown in the exhibition:

102 drawings by 96 artists were selected for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2023 exhibition and awards by Laura Hoptman, Executive Director of The Drawing Center, New York; Dennis Scholl AM, Collector, Arts Patron, President and CEO of Oolite Arts; and Barbara Walker MBE RA, artist.

The Working Drawing Award, a special category celebrating the role of drawing within architecture, design and making processes, was selected by Ben Heath, Principal, Grimshaw Architects; Debbie Hillyerd, Senior Director of Learning, Hauser & Wirth; and Michael Pavelka, costume and set designer for stage, dance, and opera. 22 works by 17 practitioners will be shown within this specific display.

The drawings selected for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2023 exhibition reflect a broad scope of contemporary drawing practice - including works on paper, textiles and other supports as well as moving image - by drawing practitioners at all stages of their careers – living and working across the UK and internationally.

Visit the Trinity Buoy Wharf website for more information.

Meet the curators

Violet M. McClean

Violet M. McClean is TheGallery’s Curator at Arts University Bournemouth. Her research specialism is the contemporary...

Millie Lake

Millie Lake is currently working as TheGallery’s Assistant Curator and Operations Officer

Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize has an established reputation as the UK’s most important annual open exhibition for drawing.

Founded in 1994 by artist and Professor, Anita Taylor, Dean of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee, the annual Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize celebrates talent and excellence in current drawing practice.

The exhibition provides an important platform for artists, designers, makers and other drawing practitioners as a catalyst within their careers, and champions the role, breadth, and value of drawing in creative practice today.

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize is supported by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust, and 2023 marks the sixth year of their generous support for the annual open exhibition.

Visit the Trinity Buoy Wharf website for more information about the prize.

Trinity Buoy Wharf exhibition tour

After the presentation of the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2023 at Trinity Buoy Wharf in London, the exhibition will embark on a nationwide tour until September 2024. In addition to AUB, tour venues include The Arts Institute, Plymouth University; and The Turnpike Gallery, Wigan.

A fully illustrated publication, education pack and engagement programmes accompany the exhibition and tour. A documentary film of the exhibition will be launched in January 2024 at Drawing Projects UK.

Supported by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust, the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize is regarded as the foremost open exhibition dedicated to drawing in the United Kingdom.

Exhibiting artists

The 102 drawings shortlisted for Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2023 are by:

The 22 drawings shortlisted for the Working Drawing Award 2023 are by:

A hyper-realistic black-and-white drawing of a woman looking into the distance, close-up.

An abstract drawing on a dark background of orange, brown and yellow shapes.

Painting of a woman wearing a pink dress on a green background.

A black-and-white couple embracing against a brown vivid background scene.

A hyper-realistic drawing of the exterior of a building from a distance.

Drawing Studio at Arts University Bournemouth

The Drawing Studio was designed and completed by renowned architect, AUB alumnus and Honorary Fellow, Professor Sir Peter Cook RA and his office CRAB (Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau).

Not only is it the first purpose-built drawing studio to be constructed at an art school for more than a century, but it is also Sir Peter’s first building to be built in the UK.

This studio celebrates light and provides a space to enable drawing as a focused creative activity. The situation of the structure upholds the four light-central themes in looking and drawing by the inclusion of; a principle north-light in the studio tradition, a rear clerestory that throws a softer light back from the rear wall, a discrete and even gentler light that filters from beneath a bench on the east side and, finally, a graded wash of light that travels along the curve of the entrance door.

This studio underlines the fundamental importance of drawing to the education offered at AUB.

The Drawing Studio was officially opened on 3 March 2016 by the world-famous Dame Zaha Hadid, who closed her speech saying, “I simply love this building.”

This was her last formal engagement before she sadly passed away in April 2016.

Find out more Watch the video