Members-only
The Chapel at Brompton Cemetery, London
About the prize
The Friends of Brompton Cemetery (FoBC) invite Royal Society of Sculptors members who identify as women to submit expressions of interest for a special exhibition celebrating International Women’s Day 2026.
Brompton Cemetery, one of London’s famous Victorian cemeteries (known as the ‘Magnificent Seven’), offers a uniquely meaningful setting for this occasion. The site is the resting place of many notable women, including Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of the suffragette movement; the novelist Geraldine Jewsbury, who explored women’s lives and constrained social roles in the nineteenth century; and Marchesa Luisa Casati, the Italian arts patron and fashion icon whose unconventional presence as an artists’ muse shaped early twentieth-century avant-garde culture, alongside many others whose work has left a lasting mark on public life. Set within a landscape shaped by gravestones and memorial sculpture, the cemetery is a place where objects hold memory and carry stories across time.
This exhibition continues the partnership between the FoBC and the Royal Society of Sculptors, following the earlier ‘Celebration of Life’ project at the Chapel, and brings women’s sculptural practice into fresh conversation with the Chapel and its historic surroundings.
If you have any questions about your submission, please contact Eilidh McCormick, Residencies and Awards Manager via awards@sculptors.org.uk or on +44 (0)20 7373 8615
About the Chapel
Designed by architect Benjamin Baud and completed in 1842, the Chapel stands at the heart of Brompton Cemetery, a Grade I–listed site in West London. Built in a neoclassical style, it has a circular domed nave encircled by a colonnade, inspired by the layout of St Peter’s in Rome. The design places the Chapel at the head of the central avenue, almost like the high altar in an open-air cathedral.
The Chapel was originally built for funeral services and continues to be used in this way today, while also hosting other activities and short exhibitions. Brompton Cemetery is a much-loved place for local residents and visitors to London, and even a brief exhibition in the Chapel can attract a high number of visitors.
The Chapel underwent major restoration in 2018, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Royal Parks and The Friends of Brompton Cemetery as part of the Brompton Cemetery Conservation Project. The work included significant repair and improved access, and has helped to secure the building for public use. Because of its listed status and sacred context, the Chapel requires sensitive handling of artworks and displays.
About the Curator, Catherine Li
The FoBC Chapel Curator, Catherine Li, curates and coordinates the Chapel’s arts programme, working with artists and partners to develop exhibitions and events that respond to the Chapel and its surroundings.
Catherine is a London-based curator whose practice focuses on site-specific exhibition making and public programming. She completed an MA in Culture, Criticism and Curation at Central Saint Martins and later held a Curator-in-Residence position with the Austrian Cultural Forum London.
She has also led a wide range of curatorial projects with organisations such as Bomb Factory Art Foundation, Photofusion, Tache Gallery, Peckham Levels and the Museum & Study Collection at Central Saint Martins, and currently works in Public Engagement at University of the Arts London.
