Sarah Biggs has been presented the 2015 TAF & Sylt Emerging Artist Residency Award (TASA). She will take up her two-month residency at the Sylt Foundation’s headquarters on the island of Sylt, Germany in early 2016. The award also includes a solo exhibition of the artists work at the 2016 Turbine Art Fair in Johannesburg.

This Residency is awarded annually to an emerging artist living in South Africa as part of Turbine Art Fair and the Sylt Foundation’s Residency Programme. The first winner in 2014 was artist Setlamorago Mashilo from Pretoria.

All the applications received were of a very high standard and were extremely strong contenders for this Award, making the judging panel’s task a difficult one. The five judges consisted of gallerist and art expert Warren Siebrits, artists Usha Seejarim and Andrew Tshabangu, the first TASA winner Stelamorago Mashilo and Glynis Hyslop, Managing Director, The Forum Company, organisers and sponsors of Turbine Art Fair.

The TASA prize will be officially awarded during the Turbine Art Fair, which takes place at the Turbine Hall from 16th – 19th July 2015 where the works of 2014 winner, Setlamorago Mashilo, will be shown.

Sarah Biggs, Surfacing (2014) Oil on Canvas 600 x 800

The judges were all impressed by Sarah Biggs’ work. “We were moved by the translucent, dreamlike technique and exceptional quality of her work. There is already a confidence in her work that is incredible and we anticipate that she will be very inspired by her time at Sylt and the island ?s maritime environment of colours and seascapes. Her work is a revival of the tradition of the Impressionists with a contemporary point of view. She will greatly benefit from the immensely rich history of the German Impressionists on Sylt, of the works of Emil Nolde, Sprotte, Kirchner“, says Setlamorago Mashilo, winner of TASA 2014.

Sarah Biggs, Gathering (2014) Oil on Paper 200 x 290

The Foundation is located on the island of Sylt, off the coast of Hamburg, Germany. The Foundation’s multi-disciplinary residency programme has been running for several years, providing opportunities to South African and international visual artists, writers, and photographers. The Residency Programme seeks to offer artists with opportunities to consolidate their practice or develop new works and ideas. It is managed under the directorship of literary scholar and curator Indra Wussow.

With strong links to South Africa, the Sylt Foundation established this residency specifically for South African visual artists. Luminaries such as Strijdom van der Merwe, Jacki McInnes, Paul Emmanuel, Bernie Searle, Santu Mofokeng, Mary Sibande, have all previously benefited from this programme.

www.syltfoundation.com