WAKEFIELD.- The Hepworth Wakefield acquired a new work by artist Ashraf Hanna, thanks to the generosity of The Craft Pottery Charitable Trust’s Emmanuel Cooper Prize.

The Hepworth Wakefield’s director, Simon Wallis, attended Ceramic Art London, 19 – 21 April 2024, and selected Hanna’s Yellow Undulating Angular Bowl, 2022, to join Wakefield’s art collection.

Hanna was born in 1967 in El Minia, Egypt and has worked in Pembrokeshire, UK for over 20 years. Hanna’s Egyptian heritage plays a significant role in informing his sense of form and scale in his work. His early artistic training in Egypt augmented his understanding of form through observation during still life studies and he cites being inspired by the ‘quiet beauty of an ever-changing sand dune and the timeless flow of the River Nile’.

Most of Hanna’s formal art and design education and discovery of ceramics happened in the UK. He studied at the Royal College of Art and was taught by Cooper himself.

The Craft Pottery Charitable Trust was set up in 1991 by the Craft Potters Association (CPA) to provide small grants to studio ceramic artists, and to support a variety of professional and educational activities. The CPA was established in 1958 and is the national body representing ceramic artists in the UK. In addition to Ceramic Art London, it currently organise two other fairs in Oxford and York and publishes Ceramic Review magazine.

Ashraf Hanna said: ‘I’m thrilled that The Hepworth Wakefield has acquired my large Yellow Undulating Bowl, made possible by the generosity of The Craft Pottery Charitable Trust. It’s a great honour to receive this prize and have my work represented in such a prestigious collection. Emmanuel Cooper played a pivotal role in my career; he was on the selection panel when I applied for membership of The Craft Potters Association and, as the Editor of Ceramic Review, invited me to write a short article introducing my work. He continued to support me through various stages of my development, and I was fortunate to be one of his last students during my Master’s degree in Ceramic and Glass at The Royal College of Art. Thank you, Emmanuel, for your lasting influence and support throughout my journey.’

Simon Wallis said: ‘Thank you so much to The Craft Pottery Charitable Trust’s Emmanuel Cooper Prize for making this amazing Ashraf Hanna acquisition possible. I am so delighted Wakefield’s collection continues to grow and develop for public benefit in Wakefield and our wider visitors to The Hepworth Wakefield. I cannot wait to see this on display.’