Socially engaging eccentrics lay claim to £24,000 arts prize

An artist who sewed balsa wood to the soles of his feet, a collective which formed a scrum on Oxford Street and a sculptor who made a vibrating mummy were shortlisted yesterday for one of Britain's biggest art prizes.

The nine artists named as contenders for the fourth Beck's Futures prize share a touch of eccentricity. This is not surprising, as the judging panel is chaired by Michael Landy, who shredded his possessions in the name of art.

Contenders for the prize, worth about £24,000, include film and video makers, "interventionists," sculptors and performance artists.

An exhibition of their work will open at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London on 4 April and run until 18 May before transferring to Glasgow and Southampton.

Philip Dodd, the ICA's director, said the common theme emerging from their work was social engagement.

"One of the interesting things about this year is I think artists are getting political or engaged with everyday life again," he said. "The second point is that, once in Britain people said there was only one art centre and that was London. But it's clear there are at least two and the other is Glasgow."

Four of the nine nominees live in or studied in Glasgow, which is home to two former Beck's winners, Roddy Buchanan and Toby Paterson.

This year's shortlist is already causing headaches for the ICA. Inventory, the collective which brought Oxford Street to a halt, is keen to stage a football match on The Mall, using Admiralty Arch and Buckingham Palace as goals.

Another of the artists, Nick Crowe, 34, who works with the internet, is yet to announce his prize exhibit but once "cyber-squatted" 29 London art galleries. Carey Young, 32, describes her work as "public/ corporate intervention" and is thought likely to get involved in how the prize is organised. "Corporate power is on the increase. My work looks at that in terms of the individual," she said. "But I don't normally get the opportunity to work within a corporate context, which I believe this is."

None of the other artists looks likely to produce anything as conventional as a painting, either.

David Sherry, 28, who sewed wood to his feet, said yesterday: "I feel this is probably the biggest opportunity I've had as an artist." But he was not yet sure what he would exhibit. His work is based on ideas of routine. He once carried a bucket of water around for a week.

Lucy Skaer, 27, describes her medium as "public interventions" – such as leaving a diamond and a scorpion on a pavement. The other shortlisted artists are: Alan Currall, 38, who makes videos inspired by reality television; Bernd Behr, 26, who produces videos examining the relationship between architecture and human activity; Rosalind Nashashibi, 29, whose films include an observation of elderly ladies at a jumble sale; and Francis Upritchard, 26, who created the mummy.

The short-listed artists how they work

Bernd Behr, 26. video artist from Hamburg. Trained at Goldsmiths College, London.

Nick Crowe, 34, video artist from Barnsley, works in Manchester. Explores identity through personal, cultural and technological evolutions.

Alan Currall, 38, video artist studied at Glasgow School of Art, based in Glasgow.

Inventory, multidisciplinary collective based in London. Founded in 1995 as a collective enterprise of artists, writers and theorists. The collective looks at the realities of contemporary urban life.

Rosalind Nashashibi, film artist, 29, born in Croydon. Studied at Glasgow School of Art. Exhibits include 16mm vignettes of everyday life in Jerusalem and Glasgow.

David Sherry, 28, performance artist from Northern Ireland, studied at Glasgow School of Art and is now based in Glasgow. He is best known for sewing pieces of wood to the soles of his feet.

Lucy Skaer, 27, public interventions artist, studied at Glasgow School of Art, and is now based in Glasgow. In a recent work, she left a diamond and a scorpion side by side on an Amsterdam pavement.

Francis Upritchard, 26, New Zealand-born sculptor now based in London. Creator of a vibrating mummy.

Carey Young, 32, public/corporate interventionist. Born in Zambia, she is based in London. Her work utilises corporate tools and strategies.