Submissions invited for Contemporary Open

The best in up and coming creative talent will be rubbing shoulders with nationally and internationally significant artists at a major new exhibition this summer.

The Plymouth Contemporary Open 2015 is open to all visual artists working in any medium, with four cash prizes available of up to £2,500 for the most outstanding pieces.

But artists must first compete for a place in the show itself, with the selected works to be displayed in the Peninsula Arts Gallery at Plymouth University for seven weeks in July and August.

The contest is now open, and artists are being invited to submit pieces which explore the relationship between history and the very latest innovations and understanding within contemporary art practice.

Partnerships Officer at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery; Dr Sarah Chapman, Director of Peninsula Arts; Chris Cook, Associate Professor (Reader) in Painting, School of Art and Media, Plymouth University; and Professor Alan Schechner, Head of School of Art and Media, Plymouth University.

The prizes will include awards of £2,500 and £1,000 to be selected by the judging, a £1,000 Peninsula Arts award recognising an outstanding new artist, and a £500 Audience Choice award to be decided by visitors to the exhibition.

The Plymouth Contemporary Open 2015 is the first initiative from the Plymouth Contemporary Partnership, a new collaboration between Peninsula Arts, Plymouth University and the Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery.

The organisations have previously worked together on a number of city-wide arts initiatives, including the hugely successful British Art Show 7, and are now planning a number of future events to enhance the contemporary art scene in the city.

Dr Sarah Chapman, Director of Peninsula Arts, said: “This is a very special new exhibition for Plymouth and the region, and provides an opportunity for emerging artists to exhibit alongside high profile established ones. Scheduled for the summer season, The Open will further turn the spotlight on Plymouth’s growing reputation as a vibrant and creative city. Equally exciting is the underlying theme which invites artists to explore the relationship between history and the contemporary, and I am looking forward to seeing how this might be interpreted.”

“The Plymouth Contemporary Open will create new opportunities for artists to exhibit and have a platform within the city,” added Judith Robinson, Partnerships Officer (Creative & Cultural Programmes) at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery. “We have collaborated with Peninsula Arts on a number of occasions in recent years and are looking forward to working with them again on another project that further develops Plymouth’s cultural offer.”