More than 200 Swansea artists will have their work exhibited together at a major show in the city’s Glynn Vivian Art Gallery from this Saturday (7th December).
Their 245 items have been selected from more than 400 entries in the annual Swansea Open competition.
Artists include students from Gower College Swansea and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David School of Art.
There will be exhibits from mid-career and emerging artists, and from participants in the gallery’s welcome group for asylum seekers and refugees.
Main themes include climate change and plastic pollution, Brexit, self-portraits and Swansea landscapes.
The works will be on display at the gallery from December 7 to February 23, with many being for sale as part of the exhibition.
Three prize-winners have been selected from the exhibited entries, with a first prize of £250, second prize of £150 and a third prize of £100. The Friends of Glynn Vivian Art Gallery will award a £200 prize for a selected artwork.
The winners will be announced at the exhibition’s opening party at 2pm on December 7. All are invited.
Glynn Vivian curator Karen MacKinnon said: “It’s always great to see our annual Swansea Open exhibition at Glynn Vivian.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the diverse work of our local artists – seasoned professionals, young people, amateurs and students, producing works of differing size, materials and subject matter.
“There are more than 240 artworks from exhibitors aged 16-90 and the entrants come from every part of our city. It’s lovely to show these works alongside our Swansea Stories exhibition which also celebrates the importance of art and culture to our people and our city.”
The Swansea Open is an annual art competition open to anyone who lives or works in Swansea (SA1-SA9). It celebrates art and craft of all forms.
The selection is made by a different panel of invited selectors each year, encouraging diverse viewpoints. The exhibition seeks to reflect critical and cultural awareness, with a broad range of work by professional and non-professional artists.
This year’s selectors were a writer and artist whose work is recognised across Wales and the world.
Swansea-based Richard Billingham is a photographer, filmmaker and teacher. He was the first recipient of the Deutsche Borse Photography Prize (1997) and was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2001.
Durre Shahwar is a writer, editor and creative facilitator. She is the co-founder of Where I’m Coming From, an open mic series that promotes black, Asian and minority ethnic writing in Wales.
