THE prestigious Black Swan Arts Open exhibition begins this week in Frome, featuring an impressive range of contemporary, original art.
The judges – writer and broadcaster Mariella Frostrup; Dea Vanagan, director of Hauser & Wirth Somerset; Stephen Snoddy, director of New Art Gallery Walsall; Gary Sangster, director of Drawing Projects UK and trustee of the Arnolfini; and Seamus Nicolson, winner of the Black Swan Arts Solo Art Show in 2015 – have selected an exceptional body of work from the 900 entries received this year from over 480 artists, the highest figure ever.
The artwork covers a variety of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, photography, sculpture, moving image, multimedia and textiles. All the work on show is for sale and prices range from £90 to £12,000, so the exhibition offers a great opportunity to pick up some unique artwork.
The shortlisted artists have the chance of winning a series of impressive prizes, including the Hauser and Wirth Somerset First Prize of £750, the Black Swan Arts Solo Show Prize, the Mount Art Student Prize, the Postscript 3D Prize, Sam’s Kitchen Deli Local Artist Award and the Babington House Mentoring Award. Black Swan Arts would also like visitors to get involved and vote for their favourite piece in the show for the Frome Town Council People’s Choice Award.
Everyone is welcome to attend the preview night on Wednesday 1st November, which will also feature live DJs and music in Divas Café from 6–9pm. Organisers say, “Come along, enjoy the buzzing atmosphere, mingle with the artists and, most importantly, buy some extraordinary art.”
The Open is an annual competition for original artwork by both established practitioners and emerging artists, and has established a reputation for attracting some of the very best contemporary artists and artworks. The show continues at Black Swan Arts until 29th November.
For further information please visit www.blackswan.org.uk/artsopen2016 or contact Morag Stuart at exhibitions@blackswan.org.uk or 01373 473980.
