To mark this, Parker Harris are awarding a generous £1,000 purchase prize for print at the 2009 ING DE Exhibition. Mary Dodwell spoke to Penny Harris about how Parker Harris came to be.

Emma Parker and Penny Harris first met in the mid 1980s, when Emma was Exhibitions Officer at the Federation of British Artists and Penny was working for the Earls Court exhibition centre.

Working on a joint project for the Mall Galleries to host a satellite fine art and antiques fair, they 'hit it off immediately'.

Emma's background in history of art and Penny's Business Studies degree complemented each other perfectly and while Emma went off globe trotting and working in America for a year or so, Penny took over her job at the Mall.

Penny then became an artists' agent, representing British artist David Mynett and Polish sculptor Astrid Balinska, organising commissions and shows around the world, building up CVs and searching out strategic opportunities. This gave her a fantastic insight into the gallery system and the world of the artist and when Emma approached her in 1989 to see if they could join forces to work on something together, the answer could only be 'yes'.

A visit to the offices of bank Singer & Friedlander, with whom Penny had been involved in the establishment of the Sunday Times Watercolour competition, ostensibly to discuss PR, led to a suggestion that Emma and Penny should just take over the running of that show. Moving with the momentum of that invitation, they went straight to see the bank manager. 'We're starting a business,' they said. 'What's your name?' came the reply. And that's how 'Parker Harris' was born.

Since those days, Parker Harris have grown and grown and their portfolio is 'incredibly wide'. From helping the Jerwood Foundation to shape and run their whole visual arts programme, to their recent work with Westminster Council and Chinatown Art to commission two huge pieces of sculpture for London's Chinatown, they are very proud of their uniquely personal relationships with their broad range of clients. Emma and Penny have now reached the stage where they like to 'give a bit back as well' and for a small fee they advise artists on their development, creative practice and professional development.

Parker Harris have now organised the last twelve DE exhibitions and loved the 'incredibly clever' Discerning Eye concept from the moment they became involved. They appreciate the honesty and transparency of the selection process and see the open show as a wonderful showcase for unknown talent.

Their 20th anniversary prize at DE 2009, for print, came about as a result of their work this year on the Northern Print Biennale, the first major project concentrating on printmaking in the UK for almost 20 years.

Feeling that this is a somewhat neglected medium, Emma and Penny want to give it a boost. They've seen a lot of the candidates and as Penny says: 'We're really looking forward to choosing!'.

 

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