The ‘Where to now?’ exhibition opened on the 8th of February at Stiwdio Griffith in the Dynevor building of the university’s Swansea campus.

The annual award from the Josef Herman Foundation is given in memory of Carolyn Davies, who died in 2018. Carolyn was Chair and a Trustee of the Herman Foundation and promoted the arts in the Swansea area. The arts were important to her, and she was always helpful in supporting graduates and ensuring creative opportunities for them. Carolyn was an inspirational person and promoted the arts whenever she had the opportunity to do so. Her key focus was creativity and the journey through the artistic process.

This award is open to Fine Art students graduating from Swansea College of Art, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, and is funded by the Josef Herman Foundation, along with Carolyn’s family. Each recipient have been awarded with a financial prize, and an opportunity to provide an artist talk along with an exhibition at the Welfare Hall in Ystradgynlais.

This special exhibition has been curated by Fine Art Lecturer Alex Duncan, and coordinated by Gwenllian Beynon both from UWTSD’s Swansea College of Art. It features work from past winners of the Josef Herman Award: Alison Bater, Abigail Fraser, Owain Sparnon, Redhab Al-Saab and Hannah Henson.

The artists have mostly made new work for this exhibition and additionally, a selection of Josef Herman’s work is being shown alongside the exhibiting artists.

The first years after graduation are a crucial period in the life of a young artist, with the safety net of art studios disappearing. The award has given them the opportunity to continue their practice, to experiment when things are raw and new, when they may ask the question, ‘Where to now?’