County Durham-based artist Graham Dolphin awarded £10,000
We’re pleased to share that County Durham-based artist Graham Dolphin has been awarded The Dover Prize 2025. He will receive a £10,000 bursary to support a two-year period of creative research and exploration in Darlington, developing new work inspired by the town’s rich cultural landscape.
The Dover Prize is a biennial award managed by Point North, supporting artists to take time for research, experimentation and collaboration. The purpose of the prize is to give artists space to create without the pressure of producing a fixed outcome. It offers time for curiosity, discovery and meaningful engagement with people and place.
Since it began in 1998, we have distributed more than £100,000 to over 20 artists, helping to strengthen the region’s cultural life, nurture creative ambition and celebrate the extraordinary talent found in and around Darlington.
Find out more about The Dover Prize and the upcoming exhibition of the 2023 recipient, Rebecca Moss.
Exploring the cultural legacy of Darlington
Graham’s winning proposal focuses on the cultural and emotional legacy of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.
Graham hopes to explore how its revolutionary promise of movement and connection continues to shape life today.
Over the next two years, he’ll work closely with the people of Darlington.
By listening, gathering stories and hearing the perspectives of locals Graham aims to create a new body of work that will be exhibited in 2027.
“I feel honoured to have been awarded the prize.
This is the first time I’ve been given the opportunity to work with a place and community over an extended period, with the freedom to explore ideas without a prescribed outcome.
That freedom is rare and valuable, it allows me to think differently and step outside of my usual ways of working.”
The judging process
The judging panel brought together experience from across the arts, curation and cultural leadership, including Phil Gatenby, Matthew Jarratt, Stephen Wiper, Dr Alistair Robinson, Helen Marriage and Vicky Holbrough.
The panel assessed over 300 applications this year from artists at all different stages of their career.
Ultimately the judges chose Graham’s proposal for its originality, ambition and relevance to Darlington:
“The innate quality of his drawing skills, the inclusivity of his project methodology and the currency of this approach impressed me greatly.
His submission presents itself at an entirely appropriate moment in his professional trajectory, when the opportunity for personal and artistic autonomy has significant potential to carry his practice forward, and likewise, The Dover Prize.”
“I was particularly impressed by the way Graham proposed to explore the ongoing relevance of railways to lives lived today by engaging with people in our region.
His rigorous and collaborative approach is an excellent fit for 2025, when many artists will be reflecting on significant change worldwide since George Stephenson’s Locomotion No.1 made its historic journey on the Stockton and Darlington railway in 1825.”
What is The Dover Prize?
The Dover Prize was founded in 1998 by art-lover and philanthropist Peggy Nonhebel (née Dover) to promote art and art education in and around Darlington.
More than 25 years later, the prize continues to champion artists who take risks, expand ideas, and connect communities through creative inquiry, values that align closely with Point North’s mission to nurture local giving and lasting change across the North East.
We’re proud to continue managing this special award and to play a part in bringing artists and communities together through creativity.
