A new art exhibition has opened in Harlow, kicking-off with an awards ceremony for the artists involved.
Organised by The Harlow Art Trust, Harlow Open 2024 is now on-view at the Gibberd Gallery until March 16, showcasing diverse styles and mediums from artists across five local districts.
Held at the Civic Centre, the exhibition offers a breadth of talent, with works presented by artists from Harlow, Uttlesford, East Herts, Epping, and Broxbourne districts.
Art lovers can enjoy everything from sculpture and digital creations to traditional and abstract pieces.
The gallery, home to the Sir Frederick Gibberd watercolour art collection, is open from Monday to Saturday, 11am – 4pm with free admission.
This year, submissions came from 191 artists and were judged by a panel of independent experts.
These included Anne Schwegmann-Fielding, mosaic artist and sculptor; Sebastiano Barassi, head of Henry Moore Collections and Programmes at the Henry Moore Foundation; Tom McDonagh, sculpture town artist in residence at STAIR 08.
The exhibition was curated by Elaine Tribley, who also handled the Harlow Open 2023.
The winners were announced during the private view held on January 30, where more than 200 artists, guests, and their families gathered.
The event, graced by an opening speech from Harlow Town Councillor Sue Livings, saw the awarding of various prizes.
Top honours went to Liz Loveless for her cyanotype print 'Stilt Houses, Harlow,' winning the first prize of £200 and a Window Galleries Exhibition.
The second prize of £100 went to Linda Prosser for her Linocut Hand Print 'Essex OAP', and third prize of £75 was awarded to Gunta Andrews for 'Harlow – Who Knew', a mixed media artwork.
Other notable winners included 'Jonesy', who bagged the Sue McDonald Prize for Painting with his piece 'Visibility', and Tom-Almeroth-Williams who won the Judges’ Choice Sculpture Prize for his sculpture 'Work'.
The Wild Card Prize was won by Paul Pattison for his mixed-media piece '2 Genders'. Outstanding works by Luke Hayes, Mary Blindflowers, David Fitzjohn, Jack Hamilton, and Eddie O’Reilly were also highly commended by the judges.
The Harlow Art Trust is an independent charity, which also takes care of the public sculptures in Harlow Sculpture Town, featuring works of famous artists such as Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.
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