Following the success of its previous three editions, the Embassy of Mexico presents “Camaradas: UK – Mexico Art Competition 2016”. A fantastic opportunity for emerging artists, from both countries, to work and learn from each other and to discover unsuspected coincidences they might share.

     The winning partners will showcase their work at the Menier Gallery from the 14th to 18th of March, allowing great visibility and promotion for the winners amongst the British contemporary art scene.

Participating artists

  • Adela Murillo - Louis Rodriguez

  • Alan Parker Lopez - Shelley Pestaina

  • Andres Souto Vilaros - Edward Crooks

  • Claudia Nayeli García González - Rhiannon Rebecca Salisbury

  • Daniel Levy - Stephanie Jane Addison Yacaman

  • Fernanda Julieta Cortes Garcia - Alex Simpson

  • Fernando Holguín Cereceres - Gary Black

  • Giuseppe Marasco - Mike Quirke

  • Odette Farrell González - Zoë Landau Konson

  • Pablo Andrés Antolí López - Lianne Carmen Milward

  • Pablo Ángel Lugo Martinez - Eva Lis

  • Patrick Girard Quinnell - James Green

  • Robin Bellamy - Jonathan William Dodd

  • Wendy Elizabeth Garcés López - Anna Bruce

  • Marisa Polín - Marie-Louise Jones

  • Aram Khas*

*Special participation

Judges and Curator

Catherine Petitgas

Catherine Petitgas (MA, History of Modern Art, Courtauld Institute, London) is a lecturer of Modern and Contemporary Art. Collector, patron and benefactor of several institutions in the UK and France, she is a trustee of the Whitechapel Gallery, London, and of Gasworks/Triangle Arts Trust.

In addition, she has been a member of the Tate Latin American Acquisitions Committee since 2004 as well as of Pompidou America Latina. She is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Tate International Council and Vice-Chair of the Host Committee of Pinta London, the Latin American art fair.

She started collecting art in 1997 and have supported several shows by Latin American artists in London since then, including exhibitions by Abraham Cruz Villegas (2012 at Modern Art Oxford); Gabriel Kuri and Rivane Neuenschwander (2011 and 2010 at South London Gallery); Amalia Pica (2012 at Chisenhale Gallery) among others.

George Blacklock

George Blacklock is a painter, musician and Dean of College. He has shown extensively in Europe and in North America and has been represented by Flowers Galleries - http://www.flowersgalleries.com - since 1996. He has received various awards from the Arts Council, the Greater London Arts Association and was a prize-winner at the John Moores contemporary painting competition.

He has work in many collections including the Arts Council of Great Britain. He is a musician within a band called Country Dirt (latest CD release, ‘Rodeo Free Europe’ - can be found on iTunes and Amazon).

His not inconsiderable day job is as Dean of College at Chelsea College of Art. Chelsea is one of six colleges that make up the University of the Arts London and the Chelsea campus is on Millbank, right next to Tate Britain.

Jenny White

Jenny is Head of Visual Arts Program at the British Council. She obtained a degree in the History of Art, Design and Film and worked for an exhibition design company and in galleries and museums, first to work for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and then for Communicado, a touring theatre company based in Scotland.

She worked in Japan for 10 years from 1989 to 1999 where she was responsible for the arts programme including two festivals UK90 and UK98, and then she worked in Thailand and Cuba country where she was appointed Director of the British Council. Jenny is a Producer of international cultural projects, festivals, and contemporary art and creative economy programmes with an extraordinary professional portfolio in cultural management.

Javier Calderon

Javier has curated several exhibitions of Contemporary Mexican and British Art both in Mexico and in the UK. In 2015 he opened Chalton Gallery, where he showcases Mexican and British Art. He also curated the exhibition “Immersive Frames” in Mexico City with the support of the British Council and Bancomer Foundation, this exhibition included Turner Prize winner 2012 Elizabeth Price.

Some of the Mexican Artists he has shown in the UK include: Tania Candiani, Manuel Rocha, Arcangel Constantini, Yoshua Okón, Hector Falcón, Luis Felipe Ortega, Israel Martinez, Mario de Vega, Pola Weiss among many others.

His projects have been founded by The Arts Council of England, CONACULTA and Bancomer Foundation. He has worked for various institutions including; Tate Modern and Tate Britain, Royal Academy of Arts, Victoria & Albert Museum, National Gallery and Royal Palaces.

Guidelines and Stages of the competition

1st Stage: Entering the competition

  • One British and one Mexican artist (preferably UK-based) must become comrades and form a partnership. Each partnership must submit a proposal (200-700 words) of a piece by each artist, or a joint proposal. The art piece must engage in a dialogue on a subject or idea of their choosing.

  • Works can range across: painting, photography, video, sculpture, performance or any other visual art form. (Example: A partnership chooses the subject of “time” and presents a proposal in which the Mexican artist will make a sculpture on the subject, whilst the British artist will do a painting on it.)

  • Each partnership must fill in a registration form and submit a selection from their portfolio of work. Click here to download the registration form.

  • The proposal, registration form and portfolio must be sent to the following email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  • The closing date for submissions is the 28th of February 2017.

  • By submitting your proposal, the Embassy of Mexico assume you accept the terms and conditions.

2nd Stage: The first elimination round

  • A panel of judges comprised by leading figures in the art world will select the best partnership proposals, who will be notified on the 3rd of March if they made it through to the next round.

  • Upon notification, those who are selected must make and complete the art piece with which they will take part in Camaradas and deliver it to the Menier Gallery on the 13th of March 2017 for installation.

3rd Stage: The final elimination round and the glory

  • The art works will be presented in the Camaradas Exhibition 2016 at the Menier Gallery from the 14th to 18th of March 2017.

UK and Mexico Art Competition
Terms & Conditions 2016

  1. This competition is open to one British and one Mexican artists who are preferably based in the UK.

  2. All information detailing how to enter this competition forms part of these terms and conditions. It is a condition of entry that all rules are accepted as final and that the competitor agrees to abide by these rules. The decision of the judges is final. Submission of an entry will be taken to mean acceptance of these terms and conditions.

  3. All entries are to be submitted no later than 11:59pm on the 28th of February 2017.

  4. Submitted artwork must be your original creation. All art work must be the work of the individual summiting it and must not have been published elsewhere or have won any prize in any other competition (this does not apply to pieces that are part of a portfolio).

  5. Your entry must not be obscene, defamatory or in breach of any applicable legislation or regulations.

  6. All contestants must register for this contest by entering their name, email, age, and mailing address, and agreeing to the terms and conditions of the contest.

  7. The artist winners will be chosen by a panel of judges appointed by The Embassy of Mexico and it reserves the right to add or substitute any of the given members of the panel without previous notification.

  8. By submitting their portfolio of work and any art piece the contestant accepts that he/she has the rights over said portfolio and or piece. By entering this contest, each contestant consents to the use of his/her name, artwork and portfolio in any merchandise, advertisements, educational materials, or publicity carried out or produced by The Embassy of Mexico as well as to be published on the Embassy’s website, social networks and newsletter without further notice or compensation. The Embassy of Mexico can publish or decline to publish, or use or decline to use, any submitted artwork at its sole discretion. The artist contestant still retains all property rights as well as rights to use and publish their artwork.

  9. The contestants of Camaradas must cover any cost related to the transportation of their work. The Embassy of Mexico will not be responsible for any damage and/or loss that the art pieces might suffer throughout the entire duration of the competition.

  10. The Embassy of Mexico’s rulings is final and without appeal in all matters related to this contest and the awarding of the prizes.

  11. The Embassy of Mexico assumes no responsibility for lost, stolen, delayed, damaged, illegible, incomplete, postage-due, or misdirected entries that have been submitted through illicit means, or do not conform to or satisfy the Contest Rules or for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any entry to be received or traffic congestion on the internet or at any website, or any combination thereof including any injury or damage to an entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from playing or downloading any material in the contest.

  12. The personal data collected for this contest will not be used for any other purposes unless entrants provide explicit permission as indicated on the entry form. The Embassy of Mexico collects your personal information for the purposes of registration, program evaluation and to keep you informed about the contest.

  13. By entering this contest, entrants agree to release The Embassy of Mexico and their respective employees, officers, directors, agents, representatives, successors, assignees, from any liability for any loss or damage of any kind to the entrant or any other person in connection with this contest or participation in any contest related activities, including but not limited to the use or misuse of a prize or any portion of a prize including personal injury, property damage or death.

  14. The Embassy of Mexico reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, cancel or suspend this contest should external circumstances arise which are beyond the reasonable control of the Embassy of Mexico. Moreover, the Embassy of Mexico is not responsible for any errors or omissions in printing or advertising this contest. This contest will run in accordance with these Contest Rules, subject to amendment by the Embassy of Mexico who reserves the right to cancel, amend, modify or terminate this contest or the rules at any time in its sole discretion and without notice.

  15. Entrants must comply with these rules, and will be deemed to have received and understood the rules if they participate in the contest.

  16. If you have any questions not answered here, or suggestions, please send a note to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

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