OUR STORY
Launched in 2022, The Graduate Art Show grows each year, offering graduate artists a vital platform at the start of their careers. Transitioning from art school to the professional world can be challenging, and this initiative, founded by Victoria Charlton and Professor Anand Saggar, aims to bridge that gap.
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This year’s edition marks a new milestone with a record number of submissions, reflecting the show’s growing reputation. From hundreds of entries, 50 artists were selected to exhibit their work. The exhibitions are running for three weeks at Woolff Gallery in London and four weeks at Vanner Gallery in Salisbury, with £500 awards presented at each venue.
In 2023, a top prize of £1,000 was awarded to Raisa Watkiss, following previous year’s winner, Lauren Goldie.
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Thanks to the generous support of Nick Woolff and David Christie, who donate their time and gallery spaces, this annual show provides a platform for graduates to showcase their work, gain recognition, and sell their art. Many past participants have gone on to exhibit elsewhere, launching promising careers.
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Professor Anand Saggar, a Clinical Genetics specialist, has years of experience integrating art into hospitals, while Victoria Charlton brings decades of expertise working with artists and staging exhibitions worldwide.
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The 2024 edition features the most original and talented BA and MA graduates from UK universities.
THE TEAM
Professor Anand Saggar
Co-Founder and Director​​
Professor Anand Saggar is a renowned and established supporter of the Arts. His main career as a doctor has focused on Clinical Genetics. Following four decades within the NHS as a Consultant and Honorary Senior Lecturer at St Georges Medical School with over 90 publications; he now provides private health care through The International Gene Clinic which he founded in London's famous Harley Street and continues to teach nationally and internationally. During his time at St Georges Hospital, London, Anand Saggar encouraged artists who approached him and wanted to paint in hospitals. He became a passionate supporter and enabled them to visit the hospital and laboratories at St George's; they would use a microscope and other materials to interpret the images. It was a novel idea 40 years ago which is now established practice. He was Chair of the Hospital Arts Committee for 15 years and helped introduce visual, sculptural and performance work, singing by a patients' bedsides, staging plays - even in corridors, providing movement performance for amputees. Dr Saggar also helped organise an annual exhibition. The hospital art collection now numbers over 800 pieces and includes over 10 Royal Academicians. Anand Saggar opened the GX Gallery in London in 2016. He supported many young artists by enabling them to exhibit and sell their work internationally. His priority has always been to help new artists establish themselves in the commercial world. Professor Anand Saggar co-founded an initiative called FloatArt. Taking the best of the UK graduates and inviting them to exhibit at a major venue on the Southbank - thus introducing their art to a broader public. The Graduate Art Show 2023 was hosted by two London galleries followed by the Vanner Gallery in Salisbury with a catalogue for the finalists.
Nisserine Ezzahni
Director of Social Media, Logistics, and Artist Communication
Nisserine is a creative professional with a decade of experience in major companies and a deep passion for the arts and storytelling. As the Director of Social Media, Logistics, and Artist Communication at the Graduate Art Show, she plays a pivotal role in connecting with emerging artists and collaborating with host galleries to showcase their work. A lover of writing, Nisserine enjoys crafting stories that explore themes of identity and culture. Fluent in English, French and Arabic, she combines her business expertise with her artistic vision, fostering meaningful and inclusive connections within the creative community.
Victoria Charlton
Co-Founder and Director
Victoria has been involved in the production of performing and visual arts for decades, although she began her working life as a journalist. ​ In the 80’s Victoria moved on to producing some of the world’s most important dance and opera companies including The Bolshoi, Kirov (now Marinksy), Royal Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Perm Ballet, Moscow Classical Ballet,The ENO, Orchestras, Moscow State Circus, Georgian State Dance Company, The Egyptian State Opera, soloists, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald,even UB40. Her company built five temporary theatres to bring large scale dance and opera companies to a wider more inclusive audience. Following the coup in Russia Mikhail Gorbachev invited her to organise his lecture tour of the UK, over five days she produced 14 events in five cities. ​ She has curated many exhibitions under the sponsorship of the Russian and UK governments beginning with the Costume and Coach Collection from St Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum, shown at London’s Barbican Centre. The British Shoe Collection from Northampton at Moscow’s Kuskovo Museum, Oleg Vingradov at the Royal Opera House, Treasures of the Tsars, a porcelain collection from Catherine the Great and Napoleon, (Gary Weston converted the fourth floor of his store, Fortnum and Mason, to museum standard exhibition space). Other exhibitions have included The Cinderella Syndrome in London, American/Russian artist Katya Levental in London, Lord Snowdons retrospective work in the UK, Russia and New York and other photographic exhibitions in London and Manchester. She has published two books with Snowdon. Victoria continues to work with artists and galleries in the UK and the United States. ​ Many artists who were selected for the 2022 and 2023 shows have since been invited by other galleries to show their work, much of the work was sold to collectors by the host galleries. Each year the project expands and in doing so gives the participating graduates unique opportunity for a wider career base. That is the aim of The Graduate Art Show
Ferdy Carabott
Design Consultant​
Ferdy is a graphic designer, curator, collector and photographer. He was a staunch support and contributor to FloatArt and now The Graduate Art Show. Ferdy’s catalogue design and graphic skills bring an invaluable dimension to the Graduate Art exhibitions.
PANEL OF JUDGES
Armando Alemdar Ara
Armando Alemdar Ara gained his diploma in Master of Art History from Kingston University in 2000 and immediately in 2001 co-founded with fellow artist Andre Durand, Neomodernism, a new philosophy of art and Art movement. Armando's visual work reflects influences from his reading of Hermetic and Sufi writings, philosophy and theology. Armando lives and works in London, UK as an artist, educator and curator. His work is represented by Zari Gallery, London, Grahams Fine Art, London and the National Centre of Culture, North Macedonia. His work is shown worldwide. Armando Alemdar continues in his role as the Head of the Art and Design Faculty at Alperton Community School in Wembley. ​ His paintings reveal deeply spiritual aspects of life and existence. Working in the Renaissance tradition of painting with glazes, Armando incorporates transparent layers of paint that both veil and reveal the essence of human form, distilling and abstracting each of his colourful images, and thus depicting a mystical imagery of inner movement. ​ Armando was an advisor on FloatArt throughout its five-year exhibitions.
Mark Wynter
Mark Wynter is the director of the William Art Gallery, located in the beating heart of Soho. Based within Picture Shop, a prominent global post-production facility, he has had 20 years of bringing people together – whether in his teams, or at numerous events he has organised and hosted. Over the years, Mark has been instrumental in launching the careers of over 2000 young people in television, many of whom now hold prominent positions across the UK and USA. He previously hosted the Graduate Art Show at his gallery, showcasing emerging artists and supporting the next generation of creatives.
Tim Scrace
Tim Scrace is an artist, architect, and sculptor. An emerging voice in collaborative and artistic working, Tim’s work explores memory and change, helping people to see space differently. Tim lives and breathes architecture. In 2018 Tim made the leap to setup up his own architectural practice. Scrace Architects www.scracearchitects.co.uk is a growing creative consultancy that works with clients and communities to challenge perspectives, educating, and promoting better environments and a more sustainable way of life. Tim’s most recognised work, THIS TOO WILL PASS www.timscrace.com, was commissioned as part of the 800th Anniversary of the relocation of Salisbury Cathedral. The linearity of the design provides a spiritual link to the past and ongoing pilgrimage. Installed temporarily, passers-by interacted with the work through mark making. Tim believes in the power of creativity. Teaching on the Architectural Technology, Interior Design and Foundation courses at Solent University Tim looks to integrate learning with practice. In his role as founder of the IGNITE collective he looks to promote the work and purpose of cultural and creative businesses and individuals both in the city and across the region.
Katya Levental
Katya Levental is the fourth generation of her family dynasty of artists to emerge as an independent talent in her own right. She received an education at the Surikov Art Institute in Russia from 1984 -1990 where she graduated with honors and received an MFA in painting and theater design. Her diploma was nominated for the Gold Medal of the Academy of Art. While still studying in Moscow Levental worked as Art Director on numerous theatrical and television productions. Upon graduating Katya relocated to the United States. She has since been exhibited and critically acclaimed within Europe, the United Kingdom, The United States, and Russia. Her work can be found in prominent international collections and museums. In addition to her solo projects, Katya has also curated numerous museum exhibitions over the years. Additionally, Katya established a career as a highly successful muralist. Creating murals and frescos for many private residences and commercial spaces around New York, Baltimore, Washington DC, Palm Beach, Russia, France, and Spain. Including the US Mint, IBM, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord and Taylor, and Marshall’s Fields in Chicago. Early in her career, Levental taught Art History at the Hebrew University in Baltimore Maryland she later continued teaching by working with young artists as a private instructor. In 2021 Katya opened The True Bohemian Art School in Maryland USA.
Brendan Neiland
Brendan Neiland is an English artist best known for his paintings of reflections in modern city buildings ​ Neiland is known for his interpretations of city life. His use of light and pictorial structure, using a spray-gun technique developed at the Royal College of Art, has seen Neiland likened to Georges Braque and Johannes Vermeer. His work is widely exhibited in major museums and galleries worldwide and Britain including: The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Tate Gallery London, The Collections of the British Council and the Arts Council of Great Britain. ​ He is represented by the Redfern Gallery and has international shows, including the Galerie Belvedere in Singapore, who represent him in the Far East. ​ In 1998 Neiland was appointed Keeper (Director) of the Royal Academy Schools, and is credited with revitalising what had been a struggling art school.
Dina Bulavina
Dina Bulavina is an independent art coordinator and curator who completed the 'New Artistic Strategies' program at the Moscow Institute of Contemporary Art, and has been involved in a variety of international projects. Dina was exhibition coordinator for the E.K.ArtBureau. She was also a member of the organising team for the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art - a major cultural event in the world of contemporary art. Dina now lives in the UK. She has a PhD in Cultural studies and is interested in understanding how art projects are capable of shaping and improving urban environments, as well as forging new relationships and connections. Additionally, Dina believes art is an excellent instrument for expressing emotions, adjusting to our constantly-evolving reality, and bringing attention to the challenges and tribulations of modern society.