[T]he final shortlist of seven artists for the C-Art Cumbrian Artist of the Year Award have been selected.
C-Art’s team of Young Curators worked with experts from the prestigious CCA in Glasgow and Open Eye in Liverpool to select 36 artists for the exhibition from the 82 submitted. In recent years the exhibition, that champions the diverse brilliance of Cumbria’s contemporary artists has proved to be hugely popular, last year’s exhibition seeing 22,000 visitors. This year the exhibition runs from 9th September to 5th November at Rheged alongside a number of exciting new elements to form the C-Art Festival.
Adrian Lochhead, Director of Eden Arts, says, “The C-Art Cumbrian Artist of the Year Exhibition and Awards exist to promote all Cumbrian art and artists. We think that it is really important to create a platform to celebrate contemporary Cumbrian art. I’m really looking forward to seeing this year’s awarded, and congratulations to all those shortlisted and featured in the exhibition.”
From the exhibiting artists the final shortlist has been drawn up.
The seven shortlisted artists are; Celia Burbush (Cockermouth), Annie Coxey (Kirkby Lonsdale), Phil Dutton (Armathwaite) , Rachel Gibson (Brampton), Jan Huntley-Peace (Milnthorpe), Brian Shields (Armathwaite) and Malcolm Wilson (Carlisle).
The winner of the coveted title will receive £500 cash, and a special trophy produced by Charlie Whinney.
Celia Burbush said: “I am absolutely thrilled to have my work spotlighted at Rheged once again. This is the single opportunity in the year for contemporary Cumbrian artists to share and explore with the public, a wide range of subjects, ideas and issues, through the arresting medium of visual art in all its forms.”
Annie Coxey said: “I am thrilled to be nominated for C-Art Cumbrian Artist of the Year. Although my paintings are abstract and mixed media, they are firmly rooted in the dramatic Cumbrian landscape. I am constantly driving my work forward and challenging myself as a contemporary painter, so to be recognised for this is a huge honour for me”
Taken from over 80 entries, the shortlist has been selected by a group of 6 Young Curators aged 20-24yrs mentored by Thomas Dukes, curator at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, and Ainslie Roddick, curator at Centre for Contemporary Art in Glasgow.
One Young Curator, Holly Cantley (22yrs) said: “It was a fascinating insight to be on the selection panel, which involved liaising and debating with my peers over selecting the shortlisted artists and the winner. The level of innovation, experimentation, risk-taking and challenging the traditional was incredibly high and made for a stimulating process. However, with great deliberation, I believe that my peers and I have chosen a shortlist who best reflect our vision as a curating body for C-Art and who have most notably exceeded the criteria for C-Art Cumbrian Artist of the Year.”
Showcasing the breadth and diversity of contemporary Cumbrian art, C-Art’s Cumbrian Artist of the Year Exhibition and Awards attracts entries from across the county in a broad stretch of mediums from abstract digital works, sculpture and installations, to more traditional paintings.
Visitors to the exhibition can also have their say, with the ‘People’s Choice’ awarded to the artist with the most votes on November 5th.
The exhibition runs from 9th September – 5th November, with the Award ceremony opening C-Art Festival at Rheged on 8th September.
C-Art Festival sees a host of events from exhibitions, art fair, live music, poetry, performance and C-Art Open Studios and Art in Extraordinary Places taking place from 8th – 17th September. Visit www.c-art.org.uk for more information.
