Joanne Coates has been named as Parliament’s official Election Artist for the 2024 general election. Appointed by the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art, she will observe the 2024 general election for the House of Commons and produce a unique work of art in response to her experience of the campaign.

Election Artist 2024  

Since 2001, the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art has commissioned an artist to follow and document each general election, creating a unique, permanent artwork for the Parliamentary Art Collection. Prior to the dissolution of Parliament, the Committee considered proposals from a range of artists working in different media, and appointed Joanne Coates following an interview process.   

Coates’ work as the Election Artist will explore the unsung stories of everyday people behind the election in places across the country through photography, video and socially engaged practice. 

“The arts are a vital part of telling the stories behind key moments and the lives of local people, so I’m thrilled to be appointed as the Election Artist 2024. I aim to cover the election over 30 days, travelling across the UK, attending speeches, marches, key fringe campaign events and rural canvassing along the election trail to produce artwork that will focus on portraiture, key details of place and hints of election paraphernalia”. 

Joanne Coates 

About the artist 

Coates’ work explores rurality and hidden histories through the mediums of photography, installations, and audio. She uses photography to question stories around power, identity, and locality. Participation and working with communities are an important aspect of her work. 

In 2024 Coates was awarded the Baltic Vasseur Arts Award and a Working-Class histories grant. In 2022, she was winner of the Jerwood / Photoworks award. Over the past five years she has achieved worldwide recognition from Magenta Flash Forward, British Journal of Photography, Unlimited, Arts Council England, Women Photograph, Firecracker and more. 

About the Election Artist Commission 

Elections have been the subject of paintings and engravings since the 18th century and recording each general election has become an important part of the acquisition strategy for the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art. The artworks record the process, outcome and main themes of each general election, ensuring both political and geographic balance. 

You can find out more about previous election artists and artworks, which are part of the Parliamentary Art Collection, by using the links below.

2019 – Nicky Hirst. Visit our online exhibition to see ‘There Was a Time 2019-20′, and watch Nicky share her process for creating the sculpture. 

2017 – Cornelia Parker RA created digital artwork for the 2017 election. Watch the pieces and find out more about how they were made in this online exhibition. 

2015 – Adam Dant’s drawing, ‘The Government Stable’ is 226 x 166cm in size. Zoom into all the details and find out what it all means in our interactive online exhibition. 

2010 – Simon Roberts captured tableaux style scenes using his large format film camera. Visit the online gallery to see Simon Robert’s view of the 2010 general election.

2005 – David Godbold uses drawings and translucency over documents and election paraphernalia to create his series ‘Forwards not Backwards’ – view each piece here. 

2001 – Jonathan Yeo was the first election artist. His three-part painting ‘Proportional Representation’ depicts the three main party leaders in 2001. Each canvas is scaled according to the election results.  

Find out more about the Parliamentary Art Collection. 

Read more about the Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art.