THE WINNING artworks in this year’s Open 33 exhibition at Leicester’s flagship museum have been announced.
Taking the top prize at Open 33 – which showcases artistic talent from across the East Midlands – was a painting by Nottinghamshire-based artist Susan Isaac.
Her oil painting, entitled Lines of Power II, was awarded the £1,000 Open 33 Attenborough Prize.
The selecting judges praised the painting’s dynamic movement and the combination of energy and precision demonstrated by the artist.
Winners of the young people and children’s categories were Evian Baum (age 17) for A Breather, acrylic on canvas; Juliette Welisane Mayega (age 14) for Schizophrenia Was Their Name, mixed media drawing; and Samuel Eldredge-Allen (age 7) for As Flat as a Pancake, digital drawing.
The City of Leicester Museums Trust selected Claire Jackson’s Cat in My Garden, oil on canvas; Study in Blue, acrylic on canvas by Wilf Birch (17); Woman, Life, Freedom, acrylic and ink by Shaghayegh Behroozi (13); The Water of Life, paint on MDF board by Akemi Uchiha (6).
The other prize sponsors and winners were:
- Arch Creative cash prize: Ramisha Rahman, (age 16) for Contemplation.
- Art House cash prizes: Linda Sharman for Chinatown, and Shaghayegh Behroozi (age 13) for Woman, Life, Freedom.
- Curve prize of tickets to The Very Hungry Caterpillar Christmas Show: Arabelle Blackburn (age 6) for Flowers.
- CVAN East Midlands prizes are for mentoring opportunities: Ruman Kaur for Cultural Ties, Adam Krupa for Cocks Huddling, and Umar Ahmed (age 17) for Riding Horse with No Water.
- De Montfort Hall prize of tickets to Cinderella: Isabelle Greasly (age 5) for Bird and Me.
- LCB Depot prizes of exhibition opportunities: Olivier Leger for Worlds Within, Elisa Panerai for Amari and Arusi, George Sfougaras for Ruins.
- Leicester Print Workshop prize of annual membership: Natalie Frank for Man at Work.
- Phoenix prizes of membership or cinema tickets: Stuart Hicking for Make.A.Mark, Andrew Jackson for Artist and Model (Egon Schiele and Wally Neuzil), and Rowaida Ramadan (age 18) for Kracked.
- Soft Touch prize of art materials: Darcey Hewitt (age 18) for Trapped in Glass.
Open 33 – which is now open at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery – features works by local people that were selected by a panel of independent judges from more than 800 entries.
All the paintings, sculptures, textiles, prints and photographs on display have been created by artists aged 19 and over who live or study in Leicester, Leicestershire, Rutland, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire or Northamptonshire.
Work by young artists aged five to 18 is also on display.
Cllr Piara Singh Clair, deputy city mayor for culture, leisure and sport, said: “The annual open exhibition attracts a huge amount of interest from all kinds of artists and I’d like to congratulate everyone whose talent has been recognised with a prize.
“Now in its 33rd, year, Open 33 provides a platform for emerging and established artists to showcase their work in the fabulous surroundings of the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, and it’s a great way to celebrate the rich artistic diversity of the region.”
All the artworks on display are available to buy, with prices starting at £50, and purchased pieces can be collected from the museum after Sunday 22 January.
Supporting the exhibition is a series of free workshops, with a family-friendly event called ‘Make it! Do it!’ taking place at 11.30am and 2.30pm on 7 January and 14 January.
The Open 33 exhibition at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery continues until 20 January 2023.
Leicester City Council is grateful to the following organisations for their generous sponsorship: Arch Creative, Art House, City of Leicester Museums Trust, Curve, CVAN East Midlands (Contemporary Visual Arts Network), De Montfort Hall, LCB Depot, Leicester Print Workshop, Phoenix, Soft Touch Arts.
Picture caption: Lines of Power II, oil on canvas, with the artist Susan Isaac