A Lancaster University fine art student is one of only eight students in the UK to win a prestigious prize.

Final year fine art student (painting) Georgina Harris is one of only eight UK final year students to win the 2020 Freelands Painting Prize, which celebrates outstanding painting practice at undergraduate level.

Her work will go on show at exhibition at the Freelands Foundation Gallery, in London, this autumn.

Georgina’s prize-winning oil on canvas, entitled ‘Grey Winter Afternoon’, explores the parallels between religious architecture and woodland landscapes by painting outside in woodlands.

The Freelands Foundation’s mission is to support artists and cultural institutions, to broaden audiences for the visual arts and to enable all young people to engage actively with the creation and enjoyment of art.

Their goal is to tackle the critical issues that limit society’s access to the benefits of art and culture; from the inequality of access to art education in schools, to the lack of sufficient support for female and emerging artists.

Their gallery holds regular exhibitions curated by the Foundation. They also undertake research, develop partnership projects with organisations such as Tate Modern and the Institute of Education at University College London and hold regular events and talks at their gallery space.

“I paint abstract landscapes that describe my lived experience of the space,” explains Georgina. “Winning the Freelands Painting Prize is an incredible way to finish my degree and has got me even more excited about continuing to paint after I graduate. I can't quite believe it!

“Lancaster University has been a brilliant space for me to grow my painting practice and grow as a person,” she said. “I've got such great memories from over the last three years.”

And Lancaster University painting lecturer Pip Dickens said: “This is a significant achievement. The selection of such a small number of students for this national prize exhibition publicly acknowledges the calibre of Georgina’s practice which is underpinned by some impressive thinking and research about contemporary painting in the landscape.

“We nominated Georgina for successfully re-invigorating the method of painting ‘en plein air’ (outside). Many people around the campus will have spotted this plucky student working on her large oil-based canvases in the woods in all weathers.

“The resultant paintings are vibrant responses to the cathedral-like perspective of trees and canopies.”

“This Prize is especially significant because the Freelands Foundation is a key proponent of the importance of art in education. We are proud of Georgina, who is a fitting representative of the values that underpin teaching and learning on the BA(Hons) Fine Art course here at Lancaster University.”