Anita Sarkezi awarded 2023 Newbery Medal

NEWS: Anita Sarkezi awarded 2023 Newbery Medal

Anita Sarkezi,
a Textiles Graduate from The Glasgow
School of Art’s School of Design, is the recipient of the 2023 Newbery
Medal which was announced today, Friday 6 July. Named after the GSA’s celebrated
director Francis ‘Fra’ Newbery, the award is presented each year to the top
student graduating from an undergraduate programme at The Glasgow School of
Art. The medal was presented at the 2023 Graduation, which saw over 500
students awarded their degrees.

 “Today
marks an important moment for our graduates as they move forward into the next
stage of their creative development, taking the skills they have learned during
their time here at The Glasgow School of Art and applying them in a wide range
of professional practice,” says Professor Penny Macbeth, Director of The
Glasgow School of Art.

“Art schools are
powerhouses of creativity and innovation that have a vital role to play in
addressing the key issues facing today’s society. Our graduates engage across
major societal themes and issues, question the world around them and challenge
the way we see things.” she adds “Today’s new cohort of artists, designers and architects now join
an international creative network of more than 18,000 GSA alumni who are making
tangible differences to the world in which we live.”

Anita Sarkezi’s work is inspired and informed by her Slavic cultural
background. Her work focuses on rural Eastern European culture, specifically
floral patterns as symbols of national identity, and explores the intertwined
narratives of rural material culture and post-colonialism. Using a jacquard loom, which weaves complex
and detailed patterns, Anita creates imaginative designs using hand and digital
drawing, painting, collage and a mix of bold and gradual colours, exploring the
relationship between organic (natural) and geometric shapes in her work.  By combining these invented patterns with
different colours and gradients, Sarkezi seeks to illustrate the movement and
migration that people often experience. 
As a migrant herself, Anita is also attempting to create her own
culture, a personal folklore since living in Scotland, as a means to foster
belonging.

“Anita’s
work is a rich tapestry of intertwined culture, history and personal narrative
to create stunning and innovative woven textiles, detailed colour studies and
graphic paper-based works.   Her
meticulous technical investigation through exhaustive testing of yarn
combinations, woven structures and multiple weft colours resulted in exquisite
textiles which extend the boundaries and application of this technology beyond
existing use in contemporary textile practice and industry.” 

Dr Helena Britt, Programme Leader, Textile Design.

Chairman’s Medals were presented to the top student
in each of the GSA’s five schools – School of Design: James Robinson, School
of Fine Art: Briony Wilson, School of Simulation & Visualisation: Alexandra
Bell BDes SfMI, School Of Architecture: Rachel Crooks MSA, Innovation School:
Caroline Baumhauer.

For full list of award-winners see Notes for Editors

See work by the 2023 cohort of graduates on the GSA Degree
Show digital showcase at gsashowcase.net

Notes
For Editors

Awards & Prizes

Newbery Medal

Anita
Sarkezi (Textile Design 2023)

Chair Medals

School of Design – James Robinson

School of Fine Art – Briony Wilson

School of Simulation & Visualisation – Alexandra Bell
BDes SfMI

Mackintosh School Of Architecture – Rachel Crooks

Innovation School – Caroline Baumhauer.

Open Prizes

W.O. Hutcheson Prize – Gabriel Christys & Reece Oliver

GSA Prize for Sustainability – Ted Tinkler (Painting &
Printmaking 2023)

Bram Stoker Award: 
Xintong Guo (Product Design 2023)

Dissertation Prize School of Design: Aaron Leigh (Communication Design 2023)
& Ted Tinkler (Painting & Printmaking 2023)

Essay Prize: School of Fine Art: Felicity White (Sculpture &
Environmental Art 2023) & Laura Balcerek (Communication Design 2023)

Mackintosh School Of Architecture

MSA Stage 4 BArch(Hons) Portfolio Prize – Euan Clarke

MSA Stage 4 Diploma Portfolio Prize – Callum Symmons

MSA Research Project Prize – Alice Vetrugno

Richard Murphy Memorial Prize – Rosina Scarano

School of Design – Silversmithing and Jewellery

Richard H Arroll Memorial Prize – Niamh Wright

Incorporation of Hammermen – Alice Biolo & Sarah
Wilmott

Carole Harper Memorial Prize – Lindsay Mahood

School of Design – Fashion and Textiles

J D Kelly Memorial Prize – Zander McKenzie

Joe Park Award – Shona Peden & Michael Mcgoldrick

Bill Naysmith Innovation Award – Maia Smyth

Incorporation of Tailors – Lemon Fraser &  Mark McKinlay

Incorporation of Bonnetmakers – Anita Sarkezi

School of Design – Interior Design

James Brough Memorial Prize – Bianka Bizubova

Stakis Prize – Aino Larvala

School of Design – Communication Design

Kerry Aylin Prize for Distinction in Print – Billy
Patterson

Innovation School

Innovation Design Prize – Mio Nevin

Innovation Design Research Prize – Kamryn Couture

Innovation Design Collaborative Practice Prize -Caroline
Baumhauer

Founders Medal for PDE – Matilda Remijsen

Ecological Innovation – Xintong Guo

School of Fine Art

Steven Campbell Hunt Medal – Eva M V Hewitt

Critical Theory Prize: Jeong Lee

School of Fine Art – Painting

The James Nicol McBroom Memorial Prize for Fine Art – Rowan
Meredith

John Calcutt Prize for Critical Writing – Jemimah Vaughan

Armour Prize – Cat Tams

School of Fine Art – Printmaking

Glasgow Print Studio Prize – Isgard Hague & Poppy
Fraser

Euan Stewart Memorial Prize – Sarah Devlin

Jon McFarland Prize for Printmaking – Sam Jackson

School of Fine Art – Sculpture

Benno Schotz Prize – Breagh Reilly

School of Fine Art – Fine Art Photography

Alice Duncan Prize – Ocean Dobree & Hannah Turner