Abbie is in the running for title of region’s finest graduate artist

A hugely talented student from the University of Northampton is in the running for a prestigious award which aims to find the finest artist from 17 universities in the south east.

Abbie Schug’s incredible work from the final year of her Fine Art degree caught the eye of the curator of public programmes staff at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes, Simon Wright.

The gallery nominated Abbie for the Platform Graduate Award, which supports emerging graduate artistic talent to further their practice following graduation.

Devised in 2012 in collaboration with CVAN South East, the award is a partnership between five galleries, with the others being in Portsmouth, Bexhill, Margate and Oxford. Thirty three graduates have been chosen from across 17 universities in the south east, with just five nominated for the award.

Abbie’s work will now be exhibited at MK Gallery and she will find out whether she has won the award when it’s announced at a special event on Saturday 17 November at the venue. If she wins, Abbie will receive a cash award plus a bespoke programme of professional development.

Abbie, who is originally from Debenham in Suffolk and enrolled on the MA Fine Art course at Northampton this academic year, said: “It was truly exciting to be nominated for the award. Having the support from the team at the MK Gallery gave me a lot of confidence to believe in my work.

“I decided to continue at the University of Northampton to study MA Fine Art, however my experience with the CVAN Platform Award has given me experience outside of the University and the support I need to further my career alongside my studies.

“Being given the opportunity to show my work alongside other recent graduates is an amazing experience and I’m looking forward to our show in a few weeks’ time.”

MK Gallery’s Simon Wright said: “Visiting the University of Northampton’s Fine Art Degree Show is a real pleasure and I’m always struck by the quality and range of work on display.

“This year, Abbie Schug’s closely observed paintings immediately stood out for their technical prowess and conceptual investigation of representation in a digital world.

“Our annual Platform Graduate Award exhibition is a great opportunity to showcase talented young artists such as Abbie to a broader audience and it underlines our ongoing commitment to supporting the growth of the visual arts ecology in the south east region.”

Abbie’s work will be exhibited in MK Gallery’s Project Space from Friday 2 to Saturday 24 November 2018. Admission is free.

To find out more visit www.mkgallery.org.