Awards were made in two rounds in 2021 and 2022. IWM awarded £250,000 to major cultural partners to realise ambitious commissions with artists. Partners selected from IWM’s War and Conflict Subject Specialist Network (SSN) received £20,000-£30,000 for their commissions.
Two large-scale commissions will also be realised on IWM sites in 2025 and 2026.
Currently On Display
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© Audrey Albert
Belongers - Audrey Albert
A commisson that explores uprooting and relocation and the forceful expulsion of the Chagossian community. Mauritian-Chagossian visual artist and creative facilitator Audrey Albert visually documented and presented textual analyses of her engagement with the Chagossian community in the UK and abroad.
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© IWM
Chila Welcomes You - Chila Kumari Singh Burman
Step into Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s imagination at Chila Welcomes You, a major new art commission for IWM North.
The exhibition is a personal perspective on the heritage of conflict and stories of Indian migration to Britain after the Second World War.
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© Anastasia Taylor-Lind
Ad Astra - Anastasia Taylor-Lind
Ad Astra showcases a selection of photographs taken by Anastasia Taylor-Lind, exploring the diverse roles of women in the Royal Air Force (RAF) today.
The exhibition title is inspired by the RAF’s motto ‘Per Ardua Ad Astra’ , meaning ‘through adversity to the stars’.
Past Commissions
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© Ross Barnwell
Walking with Ghosts - Gateways Partnership with University of Kent
An immersive art experience installed at Folkestone Harbour Arms Railway Station in November 2022.
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© Richard Hughes
The Mother of Tension - Xzibit Young Creatives
A theatre performance work that drew on a hip hop movement vocabulary.
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© Helen Sloan
After the Rain - Compagnie XY
A production by French circus collective Compagnie XY. For this work they were accompanied by over 50 local musicians, choirs and acrobats.
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© Ed Kluz
They Can’t Mess with What’s in Your Head - Ed Kluz
A sculptural installation exploring the personal stories of British troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
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© Olivier Kugler and Andrew Humphreys
Friends, Foes and Good Companions - Olivier Kugler and Andrew Humphreys
A commission about experiences of and storytelling about the Cod Wars, resulting in an exhibition at the Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre and an outdoor exhibition trail that ran throughout the town.
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© Tom Arran
Tomorrow - Freedom Women Collective
An exhibition of artworks by Freedom Women Collective, comprised of a core group of five women artists who resettled as refugees in the UK.
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© Ed Broughton
Somewhere to Stay - Diana Forster
Artist Diana Forster traces the journey taken by her Polish mother during the Second World War, when she was forcibly displaced.
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© Re-Think PR
War and Peace; Welsh Schools Remembering War and Conflict - Sion Tomos Owen
Artist Siôn Tomos Owen collaborated with students from six Welsh schools to create war memorials that reflect today’s society, and consider the long-term impact of conflict on their communities.
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© Alex Bamford
The Shining Lights of Service - Chila Kumari Singh Burman
A light installation created at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton. Inspired by the heritage of India, the artwork is a tribute to the Indian soldiers cared for in the Royal Pavilion.
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© John Mackenzie
The Waiting Gardens of the North - Michael Rakowitz
An evolving indoor garden. It was developed with communities who have experienced forced displacement and were seeking refuge.
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© Nerve Centre
We Can Do Better - Joe Caslin
Made in collaboration with the Kindred Collective, a group of young women born after the Good Friday Agreement.
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© Patrick Jameson
Untitled - Cathy Wilkes
Cathy Wilkes’ commission was influenced by her childhood in Northern Ireland and by histories and experiences of violence not usually given expression within official representations of war.
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© Grzegorz Stefański
locusts - Grzegorz Stefański
Inspired by testimonies of those who remembered the Blitz over Southampton, Grzegorz Stefański’s film locusts explores the suppression of emotional trauma.
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© Dom Moore
Broken Token - Paul Rooney
This commission, in partnership with The Box in Plymouth, was a two-screen film by artist Paul Rooney, that explored the idea of home during times of conflict.
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© Polly Thomas
Out of this World - Heather Phillipson
This commission, in partnership with Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea, saw artist Heather Phillipson plot a sequence of sonic and atmospheric conditions that conjure airspace, aerospace and outer space.
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Unicorn Preservation Society
When the Brazen Bands Shall Play - Michael Betteridge
Commemorating HMS Unicorn's role in the First World War, this commission is an eight movement musical work by UK composer Michael Betteridge.