Abigail Hedley Receives International Sculpture Center’s 2023 Award
Abigail Hedley of Knoxville, TN has been awarded the prestigious International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award for 2023. Abigail is a student at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, School of Art.
The International Sculpture Center (ISC) established the annual “Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award” program in 1994 to recognize young sculptors and to encourage their continued commitment to the field. It was also designed to draw attention to the sculpture programs of the participating universities, colleges and art schools. The award program boasts an exceptional number of participating institutions; including 94 universities, colleges and art school sculpture programs for a nominated total of 182 students.
A distinguished panel made up of Erin Lee Antonak, artist and curator, Louisiana; Isaac Duncan III, artist and ISC board member, Tennessee; and Lynn DeClemente Losavio, non-profit executive, curator, and collaborator, New Jersey, deliberated over 646 images of sculptural works to select 10 award recipients and 11 honorable mentions. The selection of the recipients from a large pool of applicants, including international students, is a great accomplishment and testament to the artistic promise of the students’ work.
The 10 award recipients’ work will be featured in the January/February 2024 issue of the International Sculpture Center’s award winning publication, Sculpture magazine as well as on the ISC’s website at https://sculpture.org/page/studentawards. Recipients will also participate in a future group exhibition.
Hedley expressed her feelings about becoming an ISC winner, saying, “I am incredibly honored to hear I am one of the students awarded with the Outstanding Student Achievement Award in contemporary sculpture, amongst other incredibly talented artists. Ever since starting my career in sculpture I found myself looking towards ISC and Sculpture magazine for inspiration, insight, and understanding of what a contemporary career in sculpture could look like. The work chosen to be represented, “Pressure”, is a piece near to my heart and represents the unseen underlying struggles of what it means to be a body working in labor. A deeply embedded sore that eventually rises to the surface.”
Courtney Lester, Community Engagement Manager for the International Sculpture Center, noted that during the months of November and December, award recipients will be highlighted on ISC’s Instagram feed prior to the launch of Sculpture’s Jan/Feb issue.
Student Awards webpage at: https://sculpture.org/page/studentawards