BALTIC’s project space at BALTIC 39 presents for the first time the annual Woon Foundation Painting and Sculpture Prize, a vibrant exhibition by talented graduating artists from across the country. This unique and highly prestigious award, presented in partnership with Northumbria University, has been made possible by the University’s alumnus and art collector Mr Wee Teng Woon.
Mr Woon is a Northumbria University Law graduate who mainly lives in Singapore but has maintained strong links with the North East and still has a home in County Durham. He has initiated this beneficent award to support the practice, career and early professional development of emerging young artists, while enhancing the profile of the North East to the general benefit of the energetic arts community in the region.
The Woon Foundation Painting and Sculpture Prize offers an exceptional opportunity for students currently in their final year of undergraduate study in the United Kingdom. Mr Wee Teng Woon kindly funds three major prizes and discretionary commendation prizes each year to the value of £40,000 through his family’s foundation. The first prize of the Woon Tai Jee Art Fellowship is awarded as a £20,000 bursary, which funds a Fellowship at the BxNU Institute of Contemporary Art at BALTIC 39. The selected artist will work for a year in the Woon Tai Jee Studio BALTIC 39, in the heart of Northumbria University’s postgraduate community, receiving mentorship from Northumbria’s Fine Art Staff.
The winner of the inaugural Woon Foundation Painting and Sculpture Art Prize was Holly Hendry. Since winning the prestigious award and studio space in BALTIC 39, Holly has exhibited work in a solo exhibition at Northumbria’s Gallery North and in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates with work commissioned by the Sharjah Art Foundation. She has recently completed the Master of Fine Art programme at the Royal College of Art. Ramona Zoladek is the current Woon Tai Jee Fellow.