No future for Beck's art prize

The award, sponsored by the German beer maker, was established seven years ago as the Institute of Contemporary Art's rival competition to the Turner Prize and was open to any modern artist.

But the contest will not take place this year and may be scrapped altogether in favour of a music prize.

A source confirmed to the Evening Standard a "review" is to be carried out by Beck's and bosses at the Pall Mall institute.

The insider said: "There was a general fear that the prize wasn't very cool any more. What's the point of hosting a modern art prize that is no longer fashionable?

"Beck's has also been taken over by new management who want the prize to be based around music, not modern art."

Last year's competition was won by Matt Stokes for Long After Tonight, a film recreating a soul music night at a Scottish church.

But there were tensions between Beck's and the Institute over changes to the rules, which gave the public a say in who won and meant entrants had to be under the age of 35. The prize money was also reduced from £65,000 to £38,000.

The first winner, in 1999, was Scottish artist Roderick Buchanan for a 14-minute film showing small children sitting in the back of a van holding their breath while being driven through the Clyde tunnel in Glasgow.

Other winners have included painter Tim Stoner - a favourite of collector Charles Saatchi - and artist Saskia Olde Wolbers.

In 2005, the competition was ridiculed for awarding the prize to Christina Mackie for a sculptural installation of a papier m‚ché egg topped with a crystal ball.

A spokeswoman for the Institute said today it would be collaborating with Beck's this year on a music-arts project to commemorate the gallery's 60th anniversary.

She added: "There is no information on this right now - we will be making an announcement shortly."

Evening Standard art critic Brian Sewell welcomed the end of the prize: "I'm glad to hear of this. It's been one of the most wretched prizes in arts sponsorship history. Beck's Futures has been a going-nowhere exercise that hasn't done Beck's any good.

"The ICA is a tart who will let anyone f**k them for the right amount of money."