Margaret Tait Award 2018/2019 Nominations Open

Part of Margaret Tait Commission

A colour photograph of Margaret Tait on the set of Blue Black Permanent. In the foreground Tait sits in a directors chair, her name illustrated on the back, with her back to the camera as she turns her head looking to the left of the frame. She wears clear framed glasses and her white hair blows in the wind. In the background a man stands on the shore with a camera on a tripod, his ankles covered by the sea, against a blue sky.
Margaret Tait on set of Blue Black Permanent, 1992. Courtesy of Orkney Library and Archive.
Margaret Tait on set of 'Blue Black Permanent', 1992. Courtesy of Orkney Library and Archive.

LUX Scotland is pleased to announce that the call for nominations for the 2018 Margaret Tait Award opened on 5 October 2017. The Margaret Tait Award is a Glasgow Film Festival commission supported by Creative Scotland and LUX Scotland. It aims to recognise experimental and innovative artists working with the moving image, providing a high-profile platform at Glasgow Film Festival to exhibit newly commissioned work and engage with a wider audience.

Established in 2010, the award is inspired by the wealth of talent emerging from Scotland. It is the only award of its kind in Scotland, offering a unique avenue of commissioning and production support for artists. It allows Glasgow Film Festival, LUX Scotland and Creative Scotland to make a lasting and meaningful impact on the careers of new filmmaking talent, support new commissions and forge new partnerships across the sector.

Each year the Award is presented to a Scottish or Scotland-based artist who has established a significant body of work over the past 5 – 12 years; is recognised by peers for their contribution to the artists’ moving image sector; and can demonstrate the significant impact that the award will have on the development of their practice. The recipient of the award receives a £10,000 prize to produce ambitious new work, which is exhibited at the Glasgow Film Festival the following year.

Eligible artists are nominated through an open call process, which allows anyone (the general public, as well as arts professionals and artists) both within and outwith Scotland to put forward an artist. Nominations are assessed by a jury of artists and professionals from across the fields of the visual arts and cinema. Shortlisted artists are then asked to present proposals for the commission.

Sarah Forrest, the recipient of the 2017 award, will present her new film at Glasgow Film Festival 2018. The 2018 award will be announced at this screening, and a reception for both Forrest and the new recipient will be held afterwards.

Who can be nominated?

  • Artists who are Scottish and/​or based in Scotland.
  • Artists who have developed a significant body of work over the past 5 – 12 years and are at the cusp of a major impact on the artists’ moving image sector.
  • Artists who are contributing to the critical context of artists’ moving image production in Scotland at the time of nomination.
  • There is no age restriction.
  • We regret that we cannot accept nominations of artists who are students.

How to nominate:

Please send 200 words on the artist’s career to date, their impact on the sector and your reasons for nominating. Please include a link to the artist’s website or an online example of their work, as well as the artist’s email address and phone number.

Applications should be sent by email only to email hidden; JavaScript is required

Deadline for nominations is 9am on Monday 4 December 2017

Previous recipients have included Sarah Forrest, Kate Davis, Duncan Marquiss, Charlotte Prodger, Rachel Maclean, Anne-Marie Copestake and Torsten Lauschmann. Read more about Margaret Tait or listen to our soundcloud on how to nominate or be nominated.

Part of Margaret Tait Commission

The Margaret Tait Commission is a LUX Scotland commission delivered in partnership with Glasgow Film, with support from Creative Scotland.

Learn more