Sculptural ceramicist Halima Cassell MBE, represented by Joanna Bird, has been named as our 2024 winner of the Brookfield Properties Craft Award. As winner, Halima Cassell will exhibit her work in a solo exhibition at 30 Fenchurch from May 14 – September. The prize package also sees Brookfield Properties acquire a piece of the winning artist’s work, which is then gifted to the Crafts Council’s National Collection.
Born in 1975 in Kashmir, growing up in Manchester and now living in Shropshire, Cassell’s multi-cultural background is tangibly present in her work and which is held in numerous public and private collections, worldwide. She was awarded an MBE in 2022 for her outstanding achievement for services to the arts and has recently published her book Halima Cassell 25.
Now in its fifth year, the Brookfield Properties Craft Award, created in partnership with the Crafts Council, is considered the leading contemporary craft prize in the UK. It supports makers in their creative process and showcases the best in British craft, through free and accessible exhibitions for the public.
Each year, the winner is selected from the line-up at Collect, the Crafts Council-produced annual art fair, which showcases the very best works in today’s contemporary craft and design market.
The winning artists’ work will also feature in 5&20, a special group exhibition at 99 Bishopsgate, curated by Brookfield Properties and the Crafts Council with support funding from the London EC BID.
Cassell was selected from shortlisted artists including:
- Fung + Bedford, the multi-disciplinary studio of Angela Fung and Ashley Bedford, represented by Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, England.
- British ceramicist Steven Edwards, represented by Vessel Gallery, England.
- The collaborative work of glass and ceramic artists Joshua Kerley and Guy Marshall-Brown, represented by Bullseye Projects, USA.
- Naomi Mcintosh, an interdisciplinary designer working with wood, represented by Ruup and Form, England (pictured above).