Putting Money in Sculptors’ Pockets: Inside the London Sculpture Prize with Isabel H Langtry

There’s something special about people who don’t just wish things were different in the creative world, but they actually build the change they want to see. Isabel H Langtry is one of those people, and her approach is refreshingly straightforward.

As Principal of Hampstead School of Art, Isabel could easily stay within her own sphere, focusing solely on the students who walk through her doors each day. But she looked at the wider sculpture community and saw something that needed addressing: sculptors needed something more than just exposure – real, tangible money in their pockets.

That’s why Isabel founded the London Sculpture Prize, a celebration that backs sculptors with financial recognition. On the 25th of November, the London Sculpture Prize private view will launch, where 34 selected works from sculptors around the world will transform Gunnersbury Park Museum into a showcase of contemporary three-dimensional art.

Isabel talked to us about her early years surrounded by African sculpture in Lagos and the Cameroons to building Hampstead School of Art’s first permanent building, her philosophy, and what drives her to create opportunities for sculptors worldwide.

I became aware of how important other peoples energy is to me from a very young age.

Living with my parents in Lagos and then the Cameroons, we were surrounded by crafts, sculpture and beautiful nature and extraordinary light. Later I realised the importance of African art on the development of post war European sculpture and fell in love with it. 

I studied a Fine Art Degree at Hull Faculty of Art and then post-graduate Sculpture at St Martins School of Art, where I was taught by strong believers in a sculptural language, Anthony Caro, Phillip King, Tim Scott, Francisco Gazitua and Katherine Gili, this was the icing on my educational cake. When my tutors invited me to organise a touring exhibition in the UK and Spain – I was very young, I did.

I gave a series of lectures on modern sculpture at Tate and all around UK art galleries and Museums and to Madrid.

This really sparked my interest in the administrative side of the art world and collaboration. I would organise the Annual Exhibitions for the Metropolitan Wharf Studios and then began my roles as Community Artist in Residence including for the Whitechapel Gallery where I exhibited a series of sculptures in the Education Gallery. I set up several art departments in Community Settings and developed others, simultaneously working with architects as lead artists for new building projects, teaching art subjects and working as an examiner for the Universities. I was appointed Principal of Hampstead School Of Art in 2011, built a state of the art building – the art schools first permanent building, and developed a wide-ranging creative teaching programme.

Judging art work has objectives, the quality of work and its intent, is of great importance, the subjective element should not in my mind dominate selection.

My work as an art examiner and art judge has been an important step toward my interest in art Competitions.

My work as an international sculptor with my series of sculptures in public spaces permanently sited in Chile, China, Spain, Slovenia, Saudi Arabia and London, has raised my awareness of the many artists in the UK and around the world who produce brilliant work that often goes unseen, how difficult it is to simply share your work with others, and how important creating opportunity and putting money into sculptors pockets is. These are my objectives in founding London Sculpture Prize, it is an extension of my role as Principal of Hampstead School of Art where I believe that art learning should be inclusive and with the help of our patrons, Sir Frank Bowling and Lady Rachel Scott Bowling amongst others, we are able to widen participation and continue extending this work.

In bringing sculptures together for exhibition at the beautiful Gunnersbury Park Museum we actually create a whole new sculpture, where sculptures from around the UK and world who have never ‘met before’ will exist together creating a whole new entity, a broad three dimensional discussion. This is very exciting and will, I feel, intrigue all people who share a love for sculpture.

I wake up at 7am, I love sleeping.

I make coffee and whatever the weather I walk around my small London garden as I drink, secateurs in my hand, I am in love with my garden, its plants birds and squirrels. Then I head for the art school and often pop into the studio or one of our campus buildings to look at the developing work.

I love sitting with students in the art school a cafe first thing in the morning and contribute to tutorials during the day. Sometimes I visit a sick student in their home or have a lunch meeting with the lovely Hampstead Summer Festival Committee, I do a lot of committee work, I am Chair and Vice-Chair of several committees.

I lecture to full time students, I love public speaking and do this often, I write for local newspapers and I am the Editor of HSoA publishing, we publish art books three or four times a year. 

My work as Principal is about extending the creative programme.

This is created with a focus on widening participation, creating partnerships, supporting other creative centres and creating opportunity across the board. And of course I develop my own sculptural practice – I work very fast. I organise the annual Art Fair Day in Hampstead and founded mural street an open air annual canvas mural festival.

I am motivated by empathy. 

“When I grow up I want to be kind” is the sentiment Christopher Robin projected to Winnie the Pooh in A.A. Milne books. Being mean is a default position when one does not have the strength to be kind, being fair and inclusive is important to me and this extends throughout all my work as principal of HSoA.

The more art that exists outside of paywalls, the better.

My feeling is that when people work together we can achieve so much, I do not believe in competition; the more creative centres and opportunities there are, the better this is for people. I want more creative centres and opportunities and I often share my model of success with others wherever they are. The London Sculpture Prize is a not for profit which openly invites visitors to the physical exhibition in a public and accessible museum at Gunnersbury. 

Getting to know each student and delivering what they need to progress is my delight.

I walk around the art school studios every day, it excites me to see the developing art works in the hands of people who are also excited about their creative development.

My garden is my battery, my studio work my inspiration, and creating opportunity my joy.

Zealous encapsulates the support system I knew I needed and was searching for. Finding and appointing Zealous after very helpful discussions, has enabled this international collaboration of LSP. A well organised resource which makes submission and the presentation of the submissions easy to access and assess. In appointing a group judges who practices lie in Chile, Indonesia USA, UK and Europe I feel confident that we are all on the same page to meet deadlines and review the work. I work with a wonderful highly committee team at HSoA, Zealous has become an extension of this. 

Celebrating sculptors hard work, their personal sculptural language, and bringing them together with their work, our judges and lovers of sculpture is the exciting finale of London Sculpture Prize 2025 at the very beautiful Gunnersbury Park Museum. Nothing is better than looking forward to this.

The Opportunity Makers Series

This is our first Opportunity Makers feature, and honestly, we couldn’t think of a better person to launch it with. This series isn’t just about celebrating the people who run creative opportunities (though they absolutely deserve celebration). It’s about understanding what drives them, what they’ve learned through the process, and how they’re quietly reshaping what’s possible for creatives.

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