University of Brighton graduate, clay artist Phoebe Cummings, was today named the winner of the inaugural £10,000 Woman’s Hour Craft Prize in a live broadcast from the V&A.
Phoebe was awarded the prize by a judging panel made up of Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director of the Crafts Council; Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A; Martha Kearney, BBC journalist and broadcaster; Susie Lau, fashion writer and style influencer; and Jacky Klein, art historian.
Phoebe uses unfired clay to create temporary sculptures and installations that gradually disintegrate. Intricate and detailed, her work takes the natural world as inspiration and lasts only for the duration of an exhibition after which the clay is, where possible, reclaimed and reused on future pieces. For the Craft Prize, she created a fountain that dissolves as the water flows, which has been on display at the V&A since early September alongside work by the other 11 finalists.
Another 3D Design & Craft BA(Hons) alumna, Lin Cheung, was also a finalist and has her work displayed alongside Phoebe’s.
The Woman’s Hour Craft Prize exhibition is on at the V&A Museum until 5 February. Following its display at the V&A, the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize exhibition will begin a UK-wide tour from March 2018.
Listen to Phoebe discuss her work on Woman’s Hour.
