Whitechapel Gallery to honour Tracey Emin with its ninth annual Art Icon Award

Renowned British artist Tracey Emin is set to receive the Whitechapel Gallery’s ninth annual Art Icon Award next month.

The accolade will be presented at a gala celebration hosted by outgoing gallery director Iwona Blazwick on 22 March.

Emin was chosen by the nominating committee for her groundbreaking work in painting, sculpture, installation, film and photography – work that has helped to transform the modern British art scene over the course of her four-decade career.

Blazwick said the committee was “unanimous in wishing to pay tribute to Tracey Emin”.

She paid tribute to the artist’s global influence, “from contributing to the development of East London and Margate as centres for creativity, to her impact as a professor at the Royal Academy and efforts further afield with the Tracey Emin Library in Uganda”.

Blazwick added: “Her pioneering portrayals of love, loss, happiness and hope will resonate with artists and audiences for years to come.”

Emin is the ninth artist to be recognised since the gallery’s Art Icon Award was launched in 2014. It was created as a way to pay tribute to artists over the age of 50 who may not have traditionally received other industry awards such as the Turner Prize.

The Whitechapel’s assistant curator Wells Fray-Smith said: “We wanted to honour an artist who not only was important for their work and how that work changed contemporary art, but also for the path that they’ve made for future generations of artists.

“Tracey was selected this year because there’s no doubt she herself is a huge icon, but also because her work [is] very ahead of its time.

“It just felt overdue that [her work] needed to be acknowledged.”

Emin was born in Croydon in 1963, but she operated out of an East London studio just minutes from the gallery for a number of years, drawing inspiration from the area and creating projects along Brick Lane during her time there.

She was famously a member of the Young British Artists movement, creating a number of emblematic works exploring tough themes, including motherhood, insomnia, and inner psychological challenges.

In addition to the award, Emin’s work will feature in an upcoming exhibition at the gallery from 17 February until 29 May. The show, entitled A Century of the Artist’s Studio, will spotlight 100 pieces from around the world, spanning 100 years.