Abigail Hedley Receives International Sculpture Center’s 2023 Award
Abigail Hedley of Knoxville, Tennessee, has been awarded the prestigious International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award for 2023. Hedley is an MFA student at UT 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.
Judges deliberated over 646 images of sculptural works to select 10 award recipients; their work was in the January/February 2024 issue of the ISC’s award-winning publication Sculpture as well as on the center’s website at sculpture.org/page/studentawards. Recipients will also participate in a future group exhibition.
“I am incredibly honored to hear I am one of the students awarded the Outstanding Student Achievement Award in contemporary sculpture, amongst other incredibly talented artists,” said Hedley. “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.”