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| Ian Henderson of Stafford Railway Building Society with artist Leigh Davis |
Moored Together floats off with top arts prize
The overall winner of this year's Staffordshire Open Art Exhibition show is Leigh Davis from Gnosall with his oil painting, Moored Together.
He was awarded his prize at a private preview and launch of the exhibition by Ian Henderson of Stafford Railway Building Society, the shows' main sponsor. He received a prize of £1,000 and a stunning piece of contemporary glass made by Stuart Akroyd.
Other prizes went to:
· £250 SCHOTT UK prize was presented by John Meadows, Managing Director, SCHOTT UK Ltd to Jacqueline Harold from Stanley Moor for her ceramic and silver piece `Pod-Cast'.
· £250 Barnett Ratcliffe Partnership prize was presented by Ray Barnett and Martin Ratcliffe from the Barnett Ratcliffe Partnership to Laura Fletcher from Stone for her film entitled `An Inventory of Bec's World'.
· £250 Pritchard Group prize was presented by Sara Pritchard, Marketing Director, the Pritchard Group to Freda Harris from Little Haywood for her Mixed Media piece entitled `Quietly into Light'.
· £100 worth of artist materials sponsored by The Paper House, Stafford was presented by Judith Dalgarno from the Paper House to Sophie Whiting from Newport for her collage `Moths and Butterflies 10'.
· 8 and under prize of £50 to Brogan Bartram aged 7 from Little Haywood for `Spiral Dragon' created in pencil and paint.
· 13-16 prize of £50 to Kathryn Scott aged 14 from Newcastle under Lyme for her watercolour `Utensils'.
· 9 -12 prize of £50 to Georgia Eyre aged 10 from Stafford for her mixed media piece `Beetle Power'.
County Councillor Maureen Compton, Cabinet Support Member for Cultural Services said: "I would like to thank all the artists who entered work for the show. Their interest and enthusiasm ensures the well deserved success of the exhibition.
"The show is an extremely important event in the Shire Hall Gallery's calendar as it promotes new talent and provides an opportunity for newly emerging artists in the region to show their work, often for the first time. I would also like to thank our sponsors Stafford Railway Building Society, The Pritchard Group, Barnett Ratcliffe Partnership, SCHOTT UK Ltd, The Paper House, Stafford, Stafford District Arts Council, Stafford Tourism Bureau and Staffordshire Life Magazine for their generous support this year, which has enabled us to offer even greater prizes."
This year the Gallery received an overwhelming 621 entries from 270 artists from all over the County. Selectors Peter McLuskie, Project Manager, Lighthouse, Wolverhampton and Gail Britt, MA, Painter had the very difficult task of selecting the 126 pieces of work for display.
Peter McLuskie said: "There were a fantastic number of entries. It was very encouraging to see so many good pieces of work which made selection very difficult. I was very impressed with the process of submission, selection and hanging, which was well organised and professional".
Gail Britt added: "I am entranced by the spirit of creativity that unites us in what is usually an isolated activity. I believe that the exhibition can provide an accessible route for new and innovative work to be displayed and I would welcome the chance to see even more contemporary works entered. As the history of art demonstrates, the one enduring component of creativity is that of change".
Page Last Modified:
19/05/2008 14:14:47
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