Panel of Judges

Chantal Joffe

Born in 1969, Chantal Joffe lives and works in London. She holds an MA from the Royal College of Art and was awarded the Royal Academy Wollaston Prize in 2006. Her recent solo exhibition titled Personal Feeling is the Main Thing at the The Lowry, Salford [2018] presented works from across Joffe's career addressing themes of portraiture, motherhood, passing time and art's relationship to history. Joffe has exhibited nationally and internationally with venues including Whitechapel Gallery, London [2018]; Royal Academy of Arts, London [2018, 2017]; National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavík (2016); National Portrait Gallery, London (2015); Jewish Museum, New York (2015); Jerwood Gallery, Hastings (2015); Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy (2014 – 2015); Saatchi Gallery, London (2013 – 2014); MODEM, Hungary (2012); Mackintosh Museum, Glasgow (2012); Turner Contemporary, Margate (2011); Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York (2009); University of the Arts, London (2007); MIMA Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (2007); Galleri KB, Oslo (2005) and Bloomberg Space, London (2004).

Paul Noble

Noble’s work has been part of numerous group exhibitions, including shows at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (2001); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2002); Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia (2003); New Museum, New York (2003); Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (2003); Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (2003); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Mexico (2004); Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark (2005); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (2005); Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York (2006); Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York (2008); Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (2009); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2010); Tate Britain, London (2010); Kunsthalle Münster, Germany (2010–11); Caterina Tognon Arte Contemporanea, Venice (2011); Henry Moore Foundation, Perry Green, England (2014); and Marta Herford, Germany (2015). Recent solo museum exhibitions include the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (2005); Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2005); and Nobson, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2014).

Noble lives and works in London.

Sacha Craddock

Sacha Craddock is an independent curator and critic, who has written for numerous national newspapers including the Guardian and The Times. She co-founded ArtSchool Palestine in Ramallah, which offers a structure and place for the exchange and development of contemporary art, as well as founding the Fellowship in Contemporary Art at British School at Rome. She currently chairs the Bloomberg New Contemporaries, which provides a means for newly graduated fine art students to be exhibited nationwide, and has been involved in the selection process since 1996.

Dawnne McGeachy

Dawnne McGeachy was one of our 7 finalists for the inaugural Spectrum Art Prize in 2018. From the peninsula of Kintyre Campbelltown, Scotland, Dawne trained at the Glasgow School of Art, and has received awards including a scholarship to study Fine Art at the University of Ohio, US and in 2013, the Jolomo Bank of Scotland prize for landscape painting. A fascination with the sea, led her to study the science of waves, relaying the forces that create waves through mathematical equations and by using the Beaufort Wind Force Scale. These calculations are then used to create precise paintings that convey the power and brutality of the waves.Dawnne states “I love watching the wind drag across the surface, pulling and agitating, making slants and troughs… realising this long, rolling swell originated in an ocean storm prior to breaking away … miles away from the shore and me.”

Mary Simpson

Mary Simpson is the CEO of Spectrum and has worked in the field of autism for over 25 years. Mary has extensive knowledge of all current economic, social and regulatory issues in the care sector and autism. Mary has extensive links within the art world, through Spectrum’s affinity with artistic expression. Mary has been instrumental in the development of local and national art auctions to both raise awareness of autism and fundraise for a dedicated Education and Arts Centre in Cornwall.

Mary firmly believes that art can create a powerful and meaningful dialogue to those who feel socially isolated, lonely or different from those around them. Mary is passionate about giving individuals with autism the platform and opportunity to show others their unique world view as well as their interests, hopes and perceptions of life.

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen is one of the world's leading experts in understanding autism and related neurological conditions. His books include 'Mindblindness', which in 1995 transformed our understanding of the psychology of autism, through to ‘Zero Degrees of Empathy’ (2011), which gave a new perspective on biological and social factors that determine cruelty and kindness. Professor Baron-Cohen is the Director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge and President of the International Society of Autism Research.