If I was successful, I would use the £10,000 bursary to pay for both art materials and studio hire.
In terms of art materials – I have been working for some time on large-scale drawings on paper- but would like now to return to painting (at scale). I would use some funds to purchase a set of bespoke stretched canvases from Bird and Davis as well as an ample supply of acrylic paint to complete a new series of paintings. I would also use some funds to purchase the largest single sheets of paper that are available.
As I have been working from home, I would also use some of the funding to subsidise studio space to work, where I can make more mess (i.e paint), as well as store my work. I have looked at numerous local studios and would probably go for a space that would be viable for me to keep up in the long term. A studio would be a huge benefit to my practise, with an increasing number of studio visits of late, it would be more practical – and allow me to better separate my work life from my home life.
My artworks fuse boundaries between myth, history, migration, black consciousness and poetry to conjure narratives that reflect on the complex nature of being human.
I hope that the ideas that I explore pivoted on identity as something malleable and transportable, coupled with my drawing methods can inspire, provoke and engage the arts community of Darlington as well as raise the profile of the creative arts in the area. These subjects of loss, migration and shared history are important, universal and integral to our understanding of art and ourselves. The narrative re-imaginings open possibilities for multiple meanings, connections and readings from local audiences and I would relish the opportunity to exhibit the works in Darlington. I would also be keen to offer a talk on the work and even drawing workshop(s) to explore the collision of narrative and line and of drawing and story.
n artist and poet, Amanda Holiday was active in the British Black Art movement in the 1980s and maintains a keen interest in both poetry and drawing. She works mainly with pastels, charcoal and pencil to explore the collision of narrative and line – of drawing and story within huge, storied drawings on brown paper. Holiday uses figurative lines and mark-making to place emphasis on the visceral, the prescient and the temporary. Her experiences of migration, ancestry, history, and politics all feed into the large-scale drawings which intentionally unsettle and challenge the viewer. Often with a powerful dreamlike quality, Holiday’s artworks fuse the boundaries between myth, ecology, consciousness and poetry to conjure narratives that reflect on the complex nature of black being and migration.
Her long evolving ‘Hum of History’ drawing series, started in the 1980s, of imagined social narratives have gradually morphed into a compelling set of ‘research drawings’ inspired by the ways in which black poets respond to art. While her art and poetry art resist easy definition, Holiday continues to nurture her artistic and poetic interests in the historic, the fabulist and the futurist. She recently undertook an AHRC International fellowship at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. In 2024, she was awarded the Peut Guard Artist Award and one of her drawings was auctioned in Drawing Room London’s Drawing Biennale. Her 1987 artwork Red Riding Hood was included in Women in Revolt! at Tate Britain, currently on tour to the Whitworth, Manchester. Her artwork was shown in two recent group shows Bloom Song (2024) and Gloam (2025), both with Vivienne Roberts Projects. She was recently selected as part of the Krio Collective and will be participating in a joint exhibition at Lighthouse Gallery in September. N.B. website portfolio passwrd: PortfolioABH
Yes I have a BA in Fine Art (Wimbledon School of Art 1987 and am currently completing a (part-time) PhD in Poetry, Race and Art at the University of Brighton.
Yes recent awards include an AHRC International Fellowship (2025) and the Peut Guard Artist Award (2024)
In the past I have been awarded various Arts Council grants for film as well as a BFI New Directors award.
no. However I am the founder of Black Sunflowers Poetry Pess – an art-oriented small press
Yes the last exhibition got a brief mention in FAD: https://fadmagazine.com/2025/01/17/the-top-5-art-exhibitions-to-see-in-late-january-in-london/
In the past (Blk Art Days) numerous mentions of shows in various press including the Financial Times with my artwork as the main image
Yes I am represented by Vivienne Roberts Projects: https://viviennerobertsprojects.com/artists/99-amanda-holiday/works/
Sort of – DRL’s Drawing Act 7 was a form of Artist placement /facilitation scheme https://drawingroom.org.uk/event/drawing-act-vii/
Email: amandabholiday@gmail.com
Address: Flat 3, Queens Court, 6 Grove Park,, London, London, SE5 8LS, GB
Local Authority: Southwark
2 responses
Impressed by work, think the crossover in some areas of previous practice, between writing and visual art, would offer interesting opportunities if practice shared in Darlington Library, statement clear in identifying artist would use Dover Art Prize to focus on painting. Whilst artist established proposal clearly identifies benefits for practice, enabling studio space, and timely, given scope of recent research.
Practice combines poetry and visual, aims to create new work on canvas with DAP support. Amanda active in the British Black Art movement in the 1980s and maintains a keen interest in both poetry and drawing. Work of this type may sit well within a Library based art gallery (Darlington Library) if this of interest to artist, or elsewhere within increasingly diverse borough. We have shared several exhibitions exploring connections between creative writing and visual art. This work is accessible and powerful in my opinion. The artist advises they could offer talks and possibly drawing workshops to reach out to art community. I am aware that since July 2012 the Darlington Library Art Gallery has not promoted a solo exhibition by a black artist. Within interview, if selected, I’d be keen to explore artists thoughts on * approaches which may promote their Dover Art Prize practice within and ideally beyond arts community in Darlington? * the breadth of engagement activity they may offer? * the proposal considers how a DAP bursary may address practical concerns (capacity to separate studio and living space, to work at scale in painting etc.) but are there other areas of practice e.g. research into any particular subject they might progress if awarded DAP?