Acclaimed Scottish artist Anya Gallaccio has been named the recipient of the Robson Orr TenTen Award 2025, presented by the Government Art Collection and sponsored by philanthropists Sybil Robson Orr and Matthew Orr. Gallaccio’s new print, Eight Hours of Whalesong, was unveiled by the Museums and Cultural Property Minister, Baroness Twycross, at a special event in London. On winning the award Gallaccio told ALTs’ Editor Joy Coker.
“It’s an amazing privilege, it was a really exciting commission to be invited to make a print, anything I wanted to do, to be hung in British embassies around the world. So yeah, no, it was really exciting and it was fantastic to get to work with the printmakers in Dundee”.
So the whole process of making the work was a real journey.Baroness Twycross praised Gallaccio’s work for its emotional and ecological resonance.
“I am delighted to congratulate Anya Gallaccio on receiving the Robson Orr TenTen Award 2025,” she said. “Her work demonstrates how art can bridge the natural world and human experience, creating powerful connections that speak to our shared responsibility for the planet. We are proud to showcase such thought-provoking work that embodies both artistic excellence and our commitment to addressing the global challenges we face together.”
Now in its eighth year, the Robson Orr TenTen Award commissions a leading British artist annually to create a limited-edition print, with 15 editions displayed in government buildings and embassies worldwide. Eleven further editions are sold to fund the acquisition of artworks by under-represented artists for the Government Art Collection. Since 2018, the initiative has enabled the purchase of more than 40 new works by artists including Sonia Boyce, Jesse Darling, Djofray Makumbu, Ingrid Pollard, Bindi Vora and Barbara Walker.
Gallaccio’s winning work, Eight Hours of Whalesong, extends her long-standing fascination with nature and communication. The artist explains that she used a tonoscope, a device that converts sound into vibration, to play eight hours of recorded whale song through pigment.
“Essentially, the vibration of the sound dislodged the pigment,” she said. “From that, I made a composition. I was interested in the whales and thinking about how they communicate over really, really long distances — trying to make a visualisation of their conversation.”
The resulting print, made using relief and pyrogravure (wood burning) processes, translates sound waves into shifting textures of pigment and wood grain. The work draws parallels between the language of whales and the human need for dialogue — particularly timely, says Gallaccio, for a world facing climate, political and environmental divides.
“Diplomacy is communication — listening to each other,” she reflects. “In creating this print, I was thinking about the importance of diplomacy for an island nation — our need to connect across oceans. I am a sculptor, so I wanted it to be a very physical, tactile object. You have embossed areas, areas of relief, burnt areas, and the texture of the wood print. Each print is unique.”
In her discussion of the work, Gallaccio connected the piece to Britain’s geography and history.
“Thinking about Britain as an island nation, with all the many complexities historically of what that means — how important the ocean has been, and still is, in terms of connecting Britain to the rest of the world,” she said. “It seemed a fitting kind of parallel really — whales communicate across vast distances, just as we must learn to engage and listen across boundaries.”
Eliza Gluckman, Director of the Government Art Collection, described the commission as a landmark in the TenTen Award’s ongoing legacy.
“In the eighth year of this extraordinary partnership with the Robson Orr Foundation, we are delighted to announce a new commission by Anya Gallaccio,” Gluckman said. “Gallaccio’s work considers the necessity of oceans to human life and the modes of communication across them. Engaging with the haunting and complex songs of whales, this print will be displayed in British government buildings globally and speak to the escalating climate crisis.”
She added that the DCA Print Studio in Dundee supported the artist’s experimental process.
“In transforming sound into image, Gallaccio has created a conceptually rich and materially compelling work,” Gluckman said. “Each new print has seen a significant British artist bring a timely story to life.”
Since its inception in 2018, the Robson Orr TenTen Award has honoured Hurvin Anderson (2018), Tacita Dean (2019), Yinka Shonibare CBE (2020), Lubaina Himid (2021), Rachel Whiteread (2022), Michael Armitage (2023) and Denzil Forrester (2024). Together, these commissions have entered embassies and cultural institutions worldwide, playing what the founders describe as a “quiet but vital role in soft diplomacy.”
“When the Robson Orr TenTen Award was first launched, none of us anticipated just how directly each year’s commission would speak to its moment,” said Sybil Robson Orr and Matthew Orr. “Over eight years, these works have travelled into embassies and cultural spaces worldwide, sparking dialogue. Anya Gallaccio’s print continues that legacy with striking relevance — reminding us that communication, through listening and connection, is essential for diplomacy, human connection and our collective future.”
The Government Art Collection has also produced a Key Stage 3 learning resource to accompany Gallaccio’s print, helping teachers explore the intersection of sound, communication, and visual art. The material is part of Picture This: The Robson Orr Visual Literacy Research Initiative, a three-year collaboration between the Robson Orr Foundation, University of Oxford, Government Art Collection, and Art UK, designed to measure the impact of visual literacy on young people’s future success.
Born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1963, Gallaccio grew up in Glasgow and London and now works between London and San Diego, California. Known for using organic and ephemeral materials — from ice and flowers to trees and fruit — her art examines natural transformation and decay. Her 2024–25 solo exhibition Preserve at Turner Contemporary, Margate, surveyed three decades of her practice, while her AIDS Memorial, due to be unveiled in London in 2027, will mark another major public commission.
