The 2022 Paul Hamlyn Foundation Awards for Artists have been revealed, with composer Laura Bowler announced as one of the ten artists honoured. The PHF Awards for Artists support individuals at pivotal moments in their careers, giving them the freedom to develop their creative ideas and contributing to their personal and professional growth. Previous composer recipients include Sally Beamish, Tansy Davies, Daniel Kidane and Abel Selaocoe.
Laura writes: “Receiving this award is a huge honour and responsibility for which I will be forever grateful. At this point in my career, it not only acts as an acknowledgement of my creative output so far, but it also provides a significant opportunity for me to reflect, interrogate and develop my creative practice. The past few years have led to me creating work that took a little too much of me and as a result destabilised my health. The financial security offered by this award will enable me to take much needed time to thoroughly investigate my compositional practice whilst allowing periods for creative and personal reflection between projects. The award has come at the most vital time for me, I cannot thank the Paul Hamlyn Foundation enough.”
Laura Bowler, described as “a triple threat composer-performer-provocatrice” (The Arts Desk), is a composer, vocalist and Artistic Director specialising in theatre, multi-disciplinary work and opera. Her recent compositions include The Blue Woman, a chamber opera commissioned by the Royal Opera House and Britten Pears Arts; Wicked Problems for flute and soprano, which won the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Chamber-scale Composition and was nominated for an Ivor Composer Award; Houses Slide, a bike powered work for ensemble and cycling soprano commissioned by the London Sinfonietta; FFF, for Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival; and Antarctica, a 50-minute multimedia work for orchestra and vocalist co-commissioned by Manchester Camerata and BBC Radio 3.
We extend our warmest congratulations to Laura.
