The Ilminster Arts Centre is inviting all artists to submit work for our annual judged Open Exhibition 2024. The aim is to celebrate the work of established and emerging artists living and working in the South West.
Work in the following media will be considered for exhibiting: paintings, original prints, drawings, sculpture, ceramics and textiles, but not photography.
An invited judging panel will choose the pieces to be exhibited, with the aim of having a well balanced exhibition with work from as many different art genres and media as possible.
Judges will include Stewart Geddes, Anna Morris, Christine Ackerman and Art Centre Manager Bryony Tidball.
Stewart Geddes is a painter who has exhibited both nationally and internationally. He is a Past President of the Royal West of England Academy (RWA), and is an Honorary Academician of the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh.
Anna Morris is an artist whose work explores the transient effects of light, investigating mark-making and landscape through print, painting and collage. Anna completed an MA in Fine Art at Wimbledon College (University of the Arts London) and has been an Art teacher for many years. She has exhibited in galleries in the UK such as the Irving Gallery and the Wiseman Gallery in Oxford.
Christine Ackerman is a painter and former Trustee of the Art Centre.
Judges will be assisted by 3d expert and Art Centre Representative, Mike Lanigan.
A total of £750 in prize money will be awarded and awards will include one overall winner, two runners up, an emerging artist prize (Students and recent Bachelor Degree graduates) and a Visitors' Choice Award, voted for by our visitors during the month-long exhibition.
The Ilminster Open Exhibition 2024 is supported by Somerset Art Works, a countywide agency dedicated to developing the visual arts, and sponsored by local firm Branston.
In addition, each winner will be invited to participate in our Prize Winners' Exhibition, to be held during January 2025.
How to enter
We have three submission options:
£35 Fee: Two pieces, not hung here previously, may be submitted for judging plus two mounted items for our browsers.
£25 Fee: One pieces, not hung here previously, may be submitted for judging plus one mounted item for our browsers.
£15 Fee: You must be a student or a recent graduate of a Bachelor Degree (within the last 3 years), Two pieces, not hung here previously, may be submitted for judging plus one mounted item for our browsers. You will also have to submit an image of a document that verifies that you qualify for the criteria, e.g. student card, course acceptance letter, qualification certificate, driver’s licence, etc. that shows your name and any relevant dates.
Payment
Please pay your submission fee by bank transfer:
Bank: Triodos Bank
Account Name: The Meeting House Arts Centre Ltd
Account number: 03276200
Sort-code: 16-58-10
If paying by BACS please include in the payment reference your initial, surname and add OPEN, e.g. j smith OPEN
Alternatively, you may pay by credit card over the phone or in person. Ring 01460 54973 and pay by credit card stating: Open + your full name
You may also send a cheque, made payable to The Meeting House Arts Centre Ltd. Please send cheques to: Open Exhibition 2024, Ilminster Arts Centre, The Meeting House, East Street, Ilminster, Somerset, TA19 0AN. Make sure you name is clearly included so that we can match up the cheque with your entry.
Judging
Round One:
The first round of judging for all three submission options will be digital only, based on photographic images of your one or two main pieces. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION CAREFULLY:
Take good quality photographs in daylight and preferably not under glass. Please do not include the frames or mounts. Each image must not exceed 1MB and should have a resolution of 300 DPI. JPG or PDF images are preferred.
Please submit one photograph per piece to be judged. Each photograph must be labelled with your name, image title and dimensions in cm, e.g. j-smith-sunset-on-the-river-30x50cm
Please do not send us photographs of your items for the browsers.
Click the button above to enter and submit your photographs.
If you are successful in round one you will be informed via email by Friday 31st May.
Round Two:
In the second round, work will be judged in person. Please deliver physical work to the Ilminster Arts Centre on Saturday 8th June, between 10am and 12pm.
If you need to arrange an alternative date/time, this must be agreed in advance. Please email info@ilminsterarts.org.uk to discuss.
Entrants will be informed by email if their work has not been selected to be exhibited by Monday 10th June.
Artwork which has not been selected can be collected by arrangement.
Exhibition & Winners:
The Exhibition will run from 11th June - 5th July (Tuesday - Saturday, 9.30am - 3pm). The exhibition will close at 2pm on the final day.
Winners will be announced at a Prize Giving Event on Wednesday 12th June, 5pm - 6:30pm. Everyone welcome!
The exhibition closes on 5th July at 2pm – unsold work must therefore be collected between 2pm - 4pm on Friday 5th July, or 10am - 12pm on Saturday 6th July. Please note we have very limited facilities to store work so please discuss with us any issues arising from delivery or collection times.
Terms & conditions
General:
You must complete the entry form, submit your photographs and payment by 6pm on Friday 3rd May. Late entries cannot be considered. Please ensure photographs are clearly labelled and payment references are used.
Work submitted must not have been hung at the Arts Centre previously.
All work submitted must be for sale and commission will be charged at 30%. Selling prices should be inclusive of the 30% commission fee.
If your work is not selected for exhibiting, your fee is non-refundable. Funds raised will be used to support the Arts Centre.
Work for hanging will be subject to selection. The judges' decision will be final. No decisions by the panel can be discussed with individuals.
The Arts Centre will take every care with the work submitted but it is the artist's responsibility to insure against problems during transportation, deterioration and accidental damage.
Work cannot be stored before the day of acceptance or after the exhibition finishes without prior agreement.
Presentation of work:
For 2D work, the exterior size including frame should be no more than 100x100cm. This restriction does not apply to 3D work, but please discuss size and weight if large.
All physical work must be clearly identified and labelled. Labels must include the name of artist, medium, title and price. E.g. J Smith, oils, Sunset on the River, £100
On 2D work for hanging, an extra label (luggage type label) with full details should be strung to the picture's mount, that can hang over the front of the picture. This is required for use whilst hanging and matching up of wall labels, it will be flipped out of sight once matched with its wall label.
2 x D-rings or fixed eyes (large enough to take a 4mm hook) must be fixed to either side of the picture for hanging on our system. No single centrally fixed attachment will be accepted, nor frames that can't be hung on our system. Please get this right to avoid disappointment.
Clip frames are not acceptable, nor flat plate fixtures - they will be rejected.
If unsure about presentation, please get in touch in advance of delivery.
Contact
Please email info@ilminsterarts.org.uk with any questions, or ring 01460 54973 on Tuesdays - Saturday 9.30am -3.00pm.