The New Art Gallery Walsall and Coventry University awarded £71k funding for new sculptural installation

The installation will feature in a major solo exhibition by Watkiss entitled The Things We Hold Sacred, which will be on display from Friday 2 October 2026 to Sunday 11 April 2027. The exhibition will include a selection of both new and existing work by the artist. The new commission will be a lasting legacy and will enter Walsall’s permanent collection, the only sculptural installation by Watkiss within a UK collection.

As part of the project, Watkiss will be working as a resident artist at Coventry University’s Delia Derbyshire building. She will collaborate with the students from School of Arts and Creative Industries, utilising the institution’s modern and well-equipped departments focusing on ceramics, clay, metalworking, woodworking, fashion, 3D printing and modelling, photography and printmaking. Each department is supported by specialist staff. 

This generous funding from Art Fund and Jerwood Foundation will support Watkiss in developing a landmark sculptural installation. By partnering with Coventry University, she’ll gain access to expert resources and diverse materials. Once complete, this will be the artist’s only installation in a UK collection, preserved as a permanent legacy for the region.

Jerwood Art Fund Commissions offer a rare opportunity for an artist and museum to work together on a fully funded, ambitious commission. A partnership between Art Fund and Jerwood Foundation, the programme enables museums and galleries to collaborate with early- to mid-career artists on new work, covering the full costs of delivering and presenting commissions. The programme aims to further artists at pivotal stages in their careers, while enriching public collections through new contemporary art.

Dr Sam Vale, Curriculum Lead: Creative Practice at Coventry University, said, “This is an exceptional opportunity for our staff and students to work closely with The New Art Gallery and with such an innovative and exciting artist as Charmaine. Being actively involved in the commissioning process, from early development through to production and exhibition, our students gain valuable insight into contemporary approaches to making work, helping to prepare them future careers in the creative industries.”

Charmaine Watkiss, artist, said, "I am super excited and thankful for this opportunity to create ambitious works that would not be possible otherwise. I look forward to experimenting with new materials and utilizing the University's expertise to realise my ideas."

Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund, said, “Jerwood Art Fund Commissions offer a rare opportunity for museums to offer fully funded commissions to exciting artists for ambitious projects. With access to the facilities and expertise of Coventry University, Charmaine Watkiss will be able to develop her artistic practice at a key moment in her career. We look forward to audiences experiencing the work for themselves at The New Art Gallery Walsall later this year. We are delighted to help bring the first sculptural installation by the artist into a UK collection thanks to our partnership with Jerwood Foundation.”

Lara Wardle, Executive Director and Trustee, Jerwood Foundation, said, “I am delighted that Charmaine Watkiss has been awarded a Jerwood Art Fund Commission, which will enable her to realise an epic new sculptural installation. This unique partnership with Art Fund, now in its second year, continues to benefit our national collections and their visitors and underlines Jerwood Foundation’s long-standing commitment to excellence and emerging talent in the arts in the UK.”

This partnership offers students a rare, hands-on look at the professional commissioning process. Students will gain industry insight by assisting in the production of the work, with some receiving paid opportunities to help finalise the installation.

Ends

About Charmaine Watkiss RWA                                                                                   

Charmaine Watkiss RWA is a British artist whose practice investigates the botanical legacy of the Caribbean. She is particularly interested in healing traditions handed down through the matrilineal line, and her work reflects this through constructed narratives around women. She accesses public archives which serve as a material from which she constructs narrative responses. Her compositions of women all use her own likeness as a way of enacting what she calls ‘memory stories’, channelling a multitude of strong female archetypes in order to inform her works on paper, some as large as life sized.

Notable exhibitions include:

• 2024: Legacy (Solo), Abbot Hall; In Praise of Black Errantry (Venice Biennale); 
• Hard Graft, Wellcome Collection, London
• 2023: Liverpool Biennial; O Quilombismo, Berlin; Spirit in the Land, Nasher Museum.
• 2022: The Wisdom Tree (Solo), Leeds Art Gallery; Drawing Attention, British Museum.

Her work is held in private and public collections including: The British Museum, London UK; The Government Art Collection, London UK; Cartwright Hall Museum, Bradford UK; Abbott Hall Museum, Kendall UK; and the Nasher Museum at Duke University, Durham NC USA, Katrin Bellinger collection.

Charmaine is an independent artist who lives and works in London.

About Art Fund

Art Fund is the national charity for museums and galleries. For over 120 years, it has helped institutions across the UK to develop and share their collections, invest in people and expertise, grow their audiences and inspire the next generation. 

Art Fund connects museums and people with great art and culture through funding, advocacy and initiatives, because access to art is vital for a healthy society. It champions the sector through the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year award - the world’s largest museum prize - and supports museum professionals through dedicated training and grant programmes. 

Independent and people-powered, Art Fund is supported by 142,000 members who buy a National Art Pass, as well as generous contributions from individuals, trusts and foundations. The National Art Pass offers free or discounted entry to over 1,000 museums, galleries and historic places in the UK, 50% off major exhibitions, a subscription to Art Quarterly magazine and Art In Your Inbox newsletter. To find out more, visit: www.artfund.org 

About Jerwood Foundation 

Established in 1977 for John Jerwood MC (1918-1991) by Alan Grieve CBE (1928-2025), Jerwood Foundation is a UK charity committed to supporting excellence and emerging talent in the arts in the UK. Alan Grieve served as Chairman for over 30 years and the organisation is now led by Lara Wardle, Executive Director and Trustee. To date Jerwood Foundation has committed over £113 million to support the arts in the UK.

Jerwood Foundation owns the Jerwood Collection of modern and contemporary art and an important part of Jerwood’s philanthropic mission is delivered by the Collection through its loaning programme and promotion of a broader understanding, interpretation and enjoyment of art. 

Also included in the Jerwood group of organisations is Jerwood Space, which was Jerwood’s first major capital project when established by Jerwood Foundation in Southwark in 1998. Jerwood Space is a dedicated rehearsal space providing theatre, musical theatre, opera and dance companies with an outstanding environment within which to create their work. For more information, visit: www.jerwood.org 

Image Credit: Charmaine Watkiss, The warrior embodies the healing forces of the divine, 2024, coffee, watercolour, pencil, colour pencil, graphite and ink on paper. Photo: David Rowan. © 2026 Charmaine Watkiss. All rights reserved, DACS