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

  • Two young women stand on a beach, the photograph is taken at sunset.
    © 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.

  • A woman gazes thoughtfully at a vibrant array of artwork on display, surrounded by a spectrum of colours.
    © 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.

  • A woman and a man in camouflage uniform, looking out of an airfield control tower
    © 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

  • The station consists of a white roof and walls with cast iron pillars painted a bright green. Black and white images of soldiers marching in the First World War are projected onto the walls of the station. 
    © 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.

  • A group of eleven dancers are captured in motion on a dark stage. They are flooded in red light from spotlights above. Their bodies are positioned in sharp, angular poses. 
    © Richard Hughes

    The Mother of Tension - Xzibit Young Creatives

    A theatre performance work that drew on a hip hop movement vocabulary.

  • Artists from After the Rain stand on each other’s shoulders to form a large triangular wall. They are all dressed in black and a large crowd surround them.
    © 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.

  • Photograph of The Green, a symbolic representation of home from Ed Kluz’s They Can’t Mess with What’s in Your Head. This diorama is illuminated in green light. Inside are miniature models of flora and fauna
    © 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. 

  • A drawing of four Grimsby former fishermen sittingaround a table. Each man has a speech bubble around his head, recollecting memories of the Cod Wars
    © 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. 

  • A dimly lit room is filled with wall hangings. In the center is a large screen showing a film. Bean bags are placed in the middle of the room for people to sit on. 
    © 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. 

  • A photograph of nine aluminum storytelling panels with cutout pictures of huts and buildings. Each panel casts shadows on a pale wall behind.
    © 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.

  • The exhibition space has wooden floors and white walls. The war memorials are placed on the walls. They are in the shape of a hand, tree and an oval shape. They are brightly coloured and each include their own set of illustrations.
    © 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.

  • A series of light-based artworks are suspended from the balcony. There are 12 different designs and they are brightly coloured. The photograph is taken after dusk.
    © 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.

  • Photograph of The Waiting Gardens of the North, 2023 by artist Michael Rakowitz. It shows a large panel surrounded by raised beds that contain plants.
    © 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. 

  • The artwork shows a female figure gazing to the sky. The photograph was taken at sunrise.
    © 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. 

  • The gallery space is painted white with a wooden floor. On the right along a wall there is a series of small installations – a child’s wooden chair and two small mixed media installations. To the left of the image there is a sculpture of a figure facing a far wall as if recoiling from a projectile. A rubber bullet suspends out from the wall as if frozen in time near the face of the sculpture.
    © 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. 

  • Film screen showing a black and white image of a man swimming underwater
    © 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.

  • Photograph. Two films screens are set up in a classical gallery space, comprising a collonnade structure around a central hall space with a marble floor. The walls and balustrade above are painted white. Across the two screens there is a split image showing the front of a house in Plymouth.
    © 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. 

  • White parachutes are suspended in a grand room. Onto the parachutes there are projections of surreal shapes, smoke and birds in flight. The room is lit in a rich purple colour.
    © 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.

  • Three brass instruments
    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.