Double award winner Jo Forbes is the recipient of both the The Daniel Ross Fine Art Prize for Consistent Excellence – BA (Hons) Fine Art and The Principals Dissertation Award 2024!

The Daniel Ross Fine Art Prize recognises a student who has consistently excelled across all aspects of their studies during the three years of their programme. It bears the name of a student who excelled in everything they did during their time at The Northern School of Art.

This year two students won the Award Jo Forbes and Beth Hinde, staff said; “We cannot separate both students when judging consistent excellence. In the words of the team, if they had been pitted against each other, then like two prize-fighters they have been going punch for punch since the beginning of the Programme. Module after module, essay after essay, exhibition after exhibition, they have both excelled every time. Of course no punches have been thrown – yet – and they have both been a pleasure to work with.”

In particular comment of Jo staff said “Jo will achieve anything she sets her mind to” so it’s fitting that she ends her degree winning two awards the second being the Principal’s Dissertation Prize 2024.

This long-running award was created as a means of recognising the high standard of written work that is being produced by our Level Six students. The prize is awarded to those whose research and debate has resulted in an innovative approach to their subject.

Speaking of why Jo won the award Principal Martin Raby commented at the ceremony that “this student’s dissertation forms a unique contribution to knowledge in relation to the work of the British artist Prunella Clough. The structure of the dissertation highlighted the formal relationships and values between Clough’s early figurative works of the 1960s and 1970s and her later abstract works, whilst contextualising the themes and motifs that spanned her practice.

The winner undertook extensive primary research which informed and enriched their work, including viewing Prunella Clough’s paintings held in Darlington Library Archives and York Art Gallery’s permanent collection. The winner’s dissertation evidences an accomplished and sophisticated application of visual analysis and a strong contextual understanding of painting in post-war Britain.”

We caught up with Jo, to find out more about her awards and time studying at our school:

• Why did you choose to study at The Northern School of Art?

I had come up north following Covid and a family bereavement were I came into some money. So I came here and thought i’d do a fine art degree which i’d always wanted to do, so that funded it.

• How did you find your degree programme? (do you feel it has helped secure work opportunities, did you like the session and staff etc.)

It was really good, i’ve always been an artist so it was really good for me to specialise and find out what I really wanted to do. I always wanted to paint so it was really good to go through all those initial things and find out what I wanted to do. That was a really valuable experience for me, I know what I want to do now and I can just go wild with it.

• Tell us about your FMP project (concept, skills used, challenges and outcomes)

My project is based on a bit of land thats called Portrack Marsh, the marsh is built on where the River Tees used to have a meander in it in the 1800’s. They straightened the river and cut it out for more efficient trade along the river. That bit of land was then turned into a nature reserve. So I just thought that it’s a really interesting space because it has half rural elements to it and half industrial elements with the river there.

I started going a few times and realised there is all this life that is happening, where they cut part of the river for more industrial stuff. Then all of a sudden this stuff has happened and theres a fresh water lake in there. So it’s just thriving from the rubbish that was there to begin with.

• You are one of our award winners, congratulations! How did it feel to win your award?

I was really surprised, I was surprised at the dissertation award particularly because I wasn’t expecting that and didn’t know it was going to happen. So when I found that out I was quite wobbly and quite emotional really. It meant a lot to me, I put a lot of work into my dissertation and I really enjoyed it, it’s the best thing i’ve ever written and to have it acknowledged was pretty amazing.

And the other award for consistent excellence I was very pleased, ever since i’ve come here, i’ve been very self motivated because i’m self-funding. I think that probably had a bit of impetus for me to keep going and keep going and get myself out of my comfort zone. So a lot of things came together in that journey that propelled me and made me find my best work.

• Whats your favourite memory of your time at the school?

This is quite arty I suppose, but I really just liked going out on location with my sketchbook and finding new places to sketch and draw, those on-location sketches informed some of my bigger paintings and just to immerse myself in the landscapes that I created really.

• What are your next steps?

I’m going to carry on with my website and try to sell a few items, i’ve got something coming up in an open exhibition at Redcar Contemporary Art Gallery. I’m going to carry on proposing work and proposing exhibitions. Probably will put my feet up for a little bit because it’s been quite an intense three years for me, working as well studying, as well as having a family.

• What is your favourite thing to do in the area?

It is an interesting area, there are these pockets of growth that you see amongst the industrial waste lands that really inspire me because they are growing from a ground that would have been about making money and industry. It’s an interesting opposition, when I see nature winning in that I think it’s lovely.

I’m from down south where you don’t see a lot of industrial sites so it was really interesting to live here and take these landscapes that aren’t picture perfect. I like that, I like the grittiness and the edginess and the nature that has come along and said actually we belong here.

• Any advice for future students applying to the school?

As i’m a mature student, i’d probably reach out to other mature students and say just do it. If you think that you don’t have time and you’re too old that’s rubbish you have and it will be the best thing you do.

If you are interested in a career in fine art our degree programme our degree is a well established and dynamic course, that offers students the freedom and resources needed to define their practice. find out more about BA (Hons) Fine Art now!