Henry Moore Foundation awards £100,000 in unrestricted funding to UK sculptors, championing artists nationwide through its Artist Award Scheme.
The Henry Moore Foundation has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting UK artists with a further £100,000 in unrestricted funding. This summer, 50 sculptors from across the UK each received a £2,000 grant to support their practice in any way they choose through the third round of the Foundation’s Artist Award Scheme, which aims to alleviate the growing financial pressures faced by artists amid the UK’s mounting cost of living crisis and arts funding cuts.
Originally launched in 2020 as a response to the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Henry Moore Foundation’s Artist Award Scheme was designed to offer meaningful financial support to artists during times of crisis. That year, the Foundation awarded £60,000 to 40 artists. In 2022, the fund was expanded to £100,000 in response to the escalating cost-of-living crisis—an amount that has been maintained in 2025.
The 2025 recipients reflect the rich diversity of contemporary sculpture in the UK, spanning a range of career stages, backgrounds, and artistic approaches. The fund is unrestricted, allowing artists the flexibility to use the money however they need to, whether that’s paying studio rent, buying materials, or bridging funding gaps for projects that might not, otherwise, proceed.
The 2025 artists were selected through a UK-wide nomination process involving 25 leading voices from the non-profit arts sector, representing all regions of the UK. Nominators included Viviana Checchia, Director of Void in Derry; Nicole Yip, Director of Spike Island in Bristol; Andrew Parkinson, Curator at Pier Arts Centre, Orkney; and Karen McKinnon, Curator at Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea.
Andrew Gannon, whose work bridges sculpture and performance, said on receiving his nomination:
“In a cost-of-living crisis this award means the difference between being able to make work or not. This money will be put towards studio and materials costs, allowing me to make new work. It comes at a time when I am working towards an exhibition, We Contain Multitudes, at Dundee Contemporary Art. The project aims to create systemic change in the visual arts sector in Scotland, tackling ableism in the sector and imagining a future in which disabled artists have increased access to opportunities, are visible, and their expertise and experiences are truly valued. I am grateful for this award, recognising work that is making disability visible in art.”
Previous recipients of the Artist Award include Turner Prize Winner 2024 Jasleen Kaur, who received one of the inaugural grants in 2020 and credits the award with helping her continue during a key moment in her career:
“The grant came at a vital moment for me as I was on maternity leave and commissions were being postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic. It brought some relief during a very uncertain time.”
Included amongst the 2022 recipients was Manon Awst, who has recently been chosen to represent Wales in the 61st La Biennale di Venezia in 2026. At the time, Manon said of receiving the award:
“The best thing about this award is that it offers flexibility – I can develop an aspect of my practice without having to worry about fulfilling predefined requirements. It will allow me to pursue the production of a new sculpture which would otherwise in no way be possible given financial circumstances. I’m excited to see where this opportunity leads me, and hopefully I can create something which can be shared.”
Henry Moore’s appreciation of the support he received stayed with him throughout his life and was instrumental in his decision to establish his Foundation to give support back to the study and future development of the visual arts and sculpture, in particular. Today, the Foundation is a global leader in supporting sculpture. It supports ambitious artistic projects around the world, delivers a dynamic programme of exhibitions and research, and preserves the legacy of Moore himself—widely recognised as one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century.
The Foundation awards £500,000 in grants each year. The first grant was awarded following the inaugural Henry Moore Foundation committee meeting on 26 January 1977, when it was agreed to give £25,000 to advance the British Museum’s Egyptian sculpture gallery project. This long-term investment has had a transformative impact on the careers of thousands of artists, both in the UK and around the world.
Godfrey Worsdale, Director of the Henry Moore Foundation, comments:
“Henry Moore understood the importance of timely support in an artist’s career, and that principle remains at the heart of our work today. Through the Artist Award Scheme, we’re able to offer real, immediate support at a time when artists across the UK are facing growing financial pressures. Unrestricted funding is rare, but it is often what artists need most. These awards honour Moore’s legacy by empowering sculptors to sustain and develop their practice—enabling them to create work that challenges, inspires, and contributes meaningfully to public life.”
List of Grant recipients
Abbas Zahedi
Abi Palmer
Adebayo Bolaji
Akeim Toussaint Buck
Andrew Gannon
Angharad Pearce Jones
Babeworld
Bethany Stead
Cassia Dodman
Chrissy Ralph
Claye Bowler
Daniel&Clara
Edwin Mingard
Francis Whorrall-Campbell
Gayle Chong Kwan
Gemma Anderson-Tempini
Glassball Studio
Grace Clifford
Hanna Tuulikki
Harriet Bowman
Jasmina Cibic
Johann DonDaniel
Karanjit Panesar
Karen Densham
Kate Crumpler
Kedisha Coakley
Lauren Gault
Liaqat Rasul
Libby Bove
Maya Rose Edwards
Mohammad Barrangi
Natasha MacVoy
Philippa Brown
Philomene Pirecki
Rafal Zajko
Rebecca Bellantoni
Rebecca Chesney
Rebecca Moss
Rudy Kanhye
Rudy Loewe
Ruth Claxon
Sahjan Kooner
Sarah Roberts
SHARP
Stella Baraklianou
Steven Claydon
Vanessa da Silva
Xin Liu
And others who wish to remain anonymous
For further information, images or to arrange a visit please contact:
Alison Parry, Marketing & Communications Manager
Henry Moore Studios & Gardens
alison.parry@henry-moore.org
Emily Dodgson, Head of Marketing & Enterprise
Henry Moore Foundation
emily.dodgson@henry-moore.org
Alicia Lethbridge
Sam Talbot
alicia@sam-talbot.com
Matthew Brown
Sam Talbot
matthew@sam-talbot.com
Notes to Editors
The Artist Award Scheme is not open to applications. The scheme was nomination based and all funds have now been awarded.
About Henry Moore Grants
Henry Moore Foundation Grants awards £500,000 annually and in doing so seeks to continue Moore’s legacy by supporting sculpture across historical, modern and contemporary registers and funding research that expands the appreciation of sculpture. Applications are assessed four times during the year by the Grants Committee.
The first grant was awarded following the inaugural Henry Moore Foundation committee meeting on 26 January, 1977, when it was agreed to give £25,000 to advance the British Museum’s Egyptian sculpture gallery project. Since then the programme has supported international excellence and ambition in the field of sculpture in multiple ways, including awarding grants for exhibitions, sculpture commissions, research, publications and the development of collections through acquisitions, conservation, cataloguing and display. In 2020 Henry Moore Foundation awarded £60,000 in rapid-response to the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic to artists across the UK.
About the Henry Moore Foundation
The Henry Moore Foundation was founded by the artist and his family in 1977 to encourage public appreciation of the visual arts.
Today we support innovative sculpture projects, devise an imaginative programme of exhibitions and research worldwide, and preserve the legacy of Moore himself: one of the great sculptors of the 20th century, who did so much to bring the art form to a wider audience.
We run two venues, in Leeds and Hertfordshire, showing a mix of Moore’s own work and other sculpture.
We also fund a variety of sculpture projects through our Henry Moore Grants and Research programmes and we have a world-class collection of artworks which regularly tour both nationally and internationally.
A registered charity, we award grants to arts organisations around the world, with a mission to bring great sculpture to as many people as possible.