BUSINESS OF ART: Nine Minutes with Rebecca Lidert, Co-Founder of the HIX Prize
Founded in 2013 by the restaurateur Mark Hix and Rebecca Lidert, HIX Prize was established to help young artists take their first steps into the art world.
Now the HIX Award is back, with an award ceremony at a prize-giving ceremony on Monday September 5th at Unit London. Its 30-strong judging panel is chaired this year by the acclaimed British artist Gavin Turk, who will be casting his eye over the shortlisted works with the head of Royal Academy Schools Eliza Bonham Carter, the collector Anita Zabludowicz, GQ editor Dylan Jones, and entrepreneur Liz Murdoch.
After Nyne were delighted to meet co-founder Rebecca Lidert to talk about the prize, its progression, and what participating artists can expect from this exciting new force in the art world
Tell us a little bit about how the HIX prize came about?
Mark HIX and I decided to create the HIX Award shortly after starting CNB Gallery, just over four years ago. We felt that it would be a great way of showcasing new and emerging arts coming out of the art schools and in doing so then help those artists in whom we saw talent to take their first tentative steps into the art world, which can be a rather daunting place.
As the Award has developed, the prizes have become more impressive too, (this year’s winner will receive a £1,000 cash prize; a £1,000 voucher for art materials from CASS Art Supplies; £1,000 HIX dining vouchers; a trip to HIX Townhouse in Lyme Regis and a feature in the autumn issue of HIX magazine). We are excited to see how this years’ addition of a cash contribution towards the winning artist’s studio costs will help their progression post-university.
The HIX Award is now in its fourth year - how would you describe how the award
has developed over that time?
The HIX Award is becoming more established every year. Each year we are joined by more judges and the discussion regarding the artworks becomes more passionate. The shortlisted artworks are viewed by the influential judges, allowing the HIX Award to become a professional platform for the shortlisted to get recognition.
We’ve had tremendous support from many leading figures in the art world, all of whom love attending the lunch Mark and myself hold to judge the shortlisted artworks. In past years, this has attracted very well-known artists including Tracey Emin, and this year the Chairman of the judging panel was Gavin Turk. However, we try to make the sure the judges come from many different backgrounds within the art world, including journalists, designers, and collectors.
As we understand it, the HIX Award is not just for emerging artists, but emerging gallerists as well – could you tell us what the HIX Award Coordinators gain from the experience?
These emerging gallerists gain experience of behind the scenes. They have to bring initiative and use their own skill set to develop the HIX Award. The expertise of what each coordinator brings allows a development from one year to the next.
What happens at the Judges lunch?
The coordinators introduce each piece of work, initiating a discussion amongst the judges, alongside a decadent lunch in the gallery. Each judge is given a booklet with an image of the shortlisted art work, with some background information about the artist and what informs their practice. We use a very simple 1-5 rating system and at the end of the lunch, the scores are added up and we find a winner and a runner-up. There is also a People’s Prize, where the general public can express their preference via votes on our social media platforms.
How does the HIX Award benefit the winners and finalists?
If the artist makes use of the connections he or she has made, the experience could be life changing. In past years, we have seen artists go on to have exhibitions not only with CNB Gallery but with other galleries.
The HIX Shortlist Exhibition is on at UNIT London, 147 Wardour St, London W1F 8WD, from Thursday 25th August to Friday 9th September 2016. The Gallery is open every day from 11am to 7pm.
www.facebook.com/hixaward
IMAGE: David Jaramillo Klinkert, Black Widow, Nonsense Botany Series 2016
