ROSL's activities in both music and the visual arts stretch back decades, with the Annual Music Competition celebrating its 66th year in 2018, and our programme of rolling exhibitions beginning in the 1980s. With such a rich history, it was decided in 1985 to marry these two, often disparate, forms of artistic expression. 

By providing a piece of art as the prize for the winner of the Overseas Award at the Annual Music Competition, both strands of ROSL's support for the arts are brought together. Some beautiful pieces have been chosen over the years, all of which have come from the students of the Royal College of Art. View all the chosen artworks over the years here

1985 1985 Trophy by Jennifer Amon

1997 1997 Trophy by Claire McLaughlin

2003 2003 Trophy by Steve Brown

This year is no different, with the work of ceramicist Judy Mackenzie selected for the Overseas Award, which was presented to violist Alex McFarlance at the Annual Music Competition Gold Medal Final on Monday 4 June. 

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Judy creates unique ceramic objects using the processes of Nerikomi and Kintsugi. Nerikomi focuses the attention on the porcelain clay, coloured with stains and oxides to create patterns. Kintsugi, embraces imperfections. Her fascination with the techniques is not only that the clay and pattern combine to become a material, but also, the true character of the clay is exploited. When manipulated, the plasticity of the clay encourages movement, forming naturally soft lines which appear to drift in and out of focus within the designs. The Kintsugi becomes a precious scar, reminding us that there is strength and beauty in the fragility of life.

If you would like to see more of Judy's work, along with her fellow RCA graduates, the annual Graduate Exhibition opens tomorrow, 23 June, and runs until 1 July at the RCA Batterseas site on Hester Road, SW11 3AN. ROSL was given a special sneak preview of all the work of the ceramics graduates this morning and it's definitely worth a visit, so make sure to get there before it closes!

RCA graduate exhibition

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