The Jarman Award is a landmark moment in the cultural calendar. The prestigious annual prize, now in its eighteenth year, recognises emerging creatives working with moving image across the UK. It is named after visionary artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman (1942 鈥 1994), platforming work that embodies the spirit and legacy of his experimental approach. Its list of former recipients is a who鈥檚-who of major players in the contemporary art scene. Winners include Heather Phillpson, Imran Perretta, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Luke Fowler, and Sin Wai Kin. The 2025 shortlisted creatives are听Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah,听Karimah Ashadu, Onyeka Igwe, Morgan Quaintance, George Finlay Ramsay and Hope Strickland. They听harness the transportive power of film, journeying from the inner-city streets of Lagos and London to villages in Italy and Algeria. These films are visually striking: from a beautifully shot black and white piece that conveys the timeless search for belonging, to a flickering abstract meditation on the nature of physical labour. Each听artist presents a vital and creative approach to the moving image. The jury, from organisations including Barbican, Channel 4 and Whitechapel Gallery, says: 鈥淭his year鈥檚 shortlist for the Jarman Award is a powerful reflection of the richness and diversity of moving image practice in the UK today. The nominees each bring a distinct voice and vision, pushing the boundaries of form, storytelling, and experimentation.鈥
Hope Strickland uses archival material, digital and analogue film formats to听consider听how relations of care wrestle with systems of power and control. Her shortlisted piece,听a river holds a perfect memory听(2024), meanders gently across waterways in Jamaica, from a leisurely raft on the Martha Brae River to a night-time boat trip in Falmouth鈥檚 bioluminescent Lagoon. The film shifts focus to the impact of industry on the waters of northern England, exploring the entanglement of these supposedly disparate communities. In 2023, Strickland won the Aesthetica Emerging Art Prize, establishing her reputation as a major new figure in the moving image space. She joins a raft of remarkable Aesthetica alumni who have since gone on to be recognised by the Jarman Award jury, including Jasmina Cibic, Jenn Nkiru, Larry Achiampong and last year鈥檚 Jarman winner, Maryam Tafakory. It is an impressive list of figures, each of whom are driving the narrative around the place of artists’ film in contemporary culture.听
听Also shortlisted is duo Arwa Aburawa听and听Turab Shah, who take a cinematic approach to ongoing legacies of colonialism and the power of community. Their听film听And still, it remains (2023)听takes viewers to听Mertoutek, a remote village in Southern Algeria鈥檚 Hoggar Mountains. Meditative shots of landscapes and ancient rock听paintings听are听intercut听with quiet scenes from everyday life, as the film uncovers the lasting impact of French nuclear听testing that took place nearby in the 1960s.
Karimah Ashadu鈥檚 recent films, which are often presented within sculptural installations, include听Machine Boys听(2024), a portrait of the daring and macho world of听motorcycle taxi drivers in Lagos. High speed tricks, roaring听engines听and thick dust result in an explosive film that explores issues of听labour and identity, and ultimately reveals听a听poignant听vulnerability that questions Nigeria鈥檚 patriarchal culture.
George Finlay Ramsay鈥檚 poetic works explore ideas of myth and ritual听through听an artful approach to 16mm analogue filmmaking.听Flex, Wax & Glass听(2023-2025)听is a trilogy that documents a Catholic bloodletting rite unique to Southern Italy.听The Age of the Son听(2024)听sees the son of a Calabrian lorry driver assume his late father鈥檚 mantle, leading the Vattenti procession during Holy Week while working through his own grief.
Moving image artist, writer and musician Morgan Quaintance brings together multiple media in his expanded art practice. The result is a richly layered body of films that has an intense sensory impact. Efforts of Nature (2023)听considers the passage of time and processes of change from two distant perspectives: the existential level of the body and the planetary level of shifting geological conditions.听Blending low resolution footage, 16mm film and satellite imagery, the film moves听between non-fiction and abstraction. Quaintance was shortlisted for the 2025 Aesthetica Art Prize, and his work will feature in an exhibition at York Art Gallery in September.听
Onyeka Igwe draws on research to explore complex subjects with an evocative visual style.The Miracle on George Green听(2022) presents a picture of the protests against, and collective resistance to, the building of the M11 link road in Hackney. Born out of Igwe鈥檚 childhood memories and walks through Hackney Marshes in lockdown, the work听expands outward through archival materials to听contemplate histories of protest.
This year鈥檚 jury features pioneering figures in contemporary art:听Matthew Barrington, Cinema Curator, Barbican;听Shaminder Nahal, Commissioning Editor, Arts and Topical, Channel 4;听Maryam Tafakory, 2024 Jarman Awardee;听Gilane Tawadros, Director, Whitechapel Gallery;听Nicole Yip, Director, Spike Island and Film London Board Member. The winner of the Jarman Award will be announced in November 2025, and the selected artists鈥 pieces will be presented as a show at Whitechapel Gallery, London, from 18 November 鈥 14 December. It is the first time in the award鈥檚 history that all of the shortlisted creatives will exhibit, offering audiences a unique opportunity to experience the breadth of talent in the artist鈥檚 film space today.
The 2025 shortlist reminds us that Derek Jarman鈥檚 spirit of innovation, risk-taking and boundary-breaking is alive and well. In an image-saturated world, increasingly dominated by AI-generated content, the Jarman Award stands as a beacon of inventiveness and ambition. As artist, filmmaker and patron John Akomfrah puts it, those featured in the prize say 鈥渨e want to find another way of doing thing.鈥 This year鈥檚 artists push beyond the conventional, opening the doors to new perspectives on culture, society and creation.听听
The Jarman Award 2025 shortlisted artists will be featured in an exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery 18 November – 14 December 2025:
For more information about the prize, visit:
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1&5. Onyeka Igwe, The Miracle On George Green (2022).
2. Karimah Ashadu, Plateau (2021-2022), video still. Courtesy of the artist and Sadie Coles HQ.
3. Hope Strickland, a river holds a perfect memory (2024), video still, commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella and Touchstones, Rochdale with support from HOME, Manchester.
4. Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah, And still, it remains (2023), film still.
