by Blood, by guide, by call

198 Contemporary Arts & Learning, in partnership with the Rita Keegan Foundation, is proud to present the third edition exhibition of the Women of Colour Art Award (WoCAA); by blood, by guide, by call

Now in its third edition, the Women of Colour Artist Award (WoCAA) was established in recognition of the structural inequities faced by women and marginalized genders of colour across the UK visual arts. What began as an acknowledgement of that gap has become, across three iterations, an ongoing and evolving enquiry into who gets to make, how they make, and what stories are then held.

This edition marks a significant new chapter.  Developed in partnership with the Rita Keegan Foundation; established in 2024 to celebrate and preserve the legacy of Rita Keegan OBE, and to support artists, researchers, and cultural workers to  develop their own collections, research, and archives. 

The winner of the Award Kat Anderson is a London based artist, a multi-disciplinary artist, working under an artistic framework titled Episodes of Horror, using horror to discuss historic and contemporary representations of mental illness and trauma as experienced by or projected upon Black bodies. She is accompanied by Rita Keegan's work and four finalists, Deeqa Ismail, Puer Deorum, Rose Nordin, and Sheida Mehri.

Curated by artist, curator and founder of 135 Home Studio, Ariel Collier, this exhibition analyses the processes, interiority and craft of these six artists, connecting their commitment to endurance, deconstruction, reconstruction and alternative archives to the intersectional womanist movement and Wynterían humanism. 

The award was judged by the Rita Keegan Foundation, Rebecca Bellantoni (previous WoCAA winner) and Amberlee Green (198 Trustee). 

About The Women of Colour Art Award

The Women of Colour Art Award (WoCAA) is a biannual award delivered by 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning that supports Women of Colour and artists from the Global Majority who identify as marginalised genders. The award responds to the structural inequities and barriers these artists often face within the visual arts sector, and aims to provide meaningful financial and developmental support at key stages in artistic practice.

WoCAA is open to UK-based artists and artist collectives working across all artistic disciplines, including those who are emerging, self-taught, working outside of traditional art institutions, or returning to practice after a period of absence. The award places value on diverse approaches to making and supports a wide range of material, process-led, and experimental practices.

Each edition of WoCAA offers shortlisted artists the opportunity to exhibit at 198 Contemporary Arts & Learning, alongside tailored professional development opportunities. Through WoCAA, 198 is committed to fostering long-term support, visibility, and sustainability for artists from underrepresented backgrounds.

About The Rita Keegan Foundation

The Rita Keegan Foundation (CIO) exists to preserve and share Rita Keegan’s creative and cultural legacy, support creative practice among visual artists, researchers and cultural workers—with a particular focus on, but not limited to, women artists of colour, artists of colour and people from marginalised communities—and open up new ways of learning through art, creative and archival practices.