The prestigious Bath Society of Artists Annual Exhibition will be hosted by Bath & North East Somerset Council at the city’s Victoria Art Gallery from 5 April to 31 May 2014.
Now in its 109th year this hugely popular exhibition is the highlight of the Gallery’s calendar and assembles the cream of regional artistic talent. Any artist aged 18 or over may submit work for possible selection by downloading a form from the website www.bsartists.co.uk and following the delivery instructions.
The exhibition will be opened by Bel Mooney, the Bath-based journalist and broadcaster.
Many prizes are up for grabs including the Bath Society of Artists Prize of £1,000, the Bristol Guild Prize of £250 for a 3-D work and the Harry Walker ‘RWA’ Young Artist Prize of £250, awarded to artists aged 18-25. There are also smaller prizes for prints, watercolours, small paintings and drawings.
Councillor Ben Stevens (Lib-Dem, Widcombe), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council is proud to welcome the Bath Society of Artists Exhibition to the Victoria Art Gallery once again. Visitors can prepare to be dazzled by the talent and sheer diversity of the more than 300 works that will be on display, all of which are for sale.”
During the exhibition members of the public will be invited to vote for their favourite art work, with the winner of the Bath Society of Artists Public Choice Prize receiving £500.
The Society was founded in 1904 with 26 members. It has grown over the years to a membership of around 120 diverse, talented artists. The annual exhibition, which is open to non-members, attracts about 1,000 entries and 7,000 visitors, with sales doubling in the last few years.
To enter, entrants must be over 18, pay a small entry fee to the Bath Society of Artists and submit their work at the Victoria Art Gallery on Saturday 29 March between 10am and 4pm. All submissions must be the artist’s own original unaided work. They may be paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints or mixed media, but not photography, craft or Giclee reproductions.
Many distinguished 20th-century painters have exhibited with the Society including Walter Sickert, John Singer Sargent, Philip Wilson Steer, Gilbert Spencer, Patrick Heron, Mary Fedden, William Scott and Howard Hodgkin.
Free talks on art
There is also a programme of free talks being held in the Victoria Art Gallery on Saturday afternoons from 2.30-3.15pm by members of the Bath Society of Artists. The first is A Painter’s Approach with Peter Davies on 12 April, followed by A Sculptor’s Approach with Guy Thomas on 26 April and the third is A Printmaker’s Approach with Howard Jeffs on 17 May.
The Victoria Art Gallery, near Pulteney Bridge in Bath, is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm,Sundays 1.30pm to 5pm and closed on Mondays. Admission for the Bath Society of Artists Exhibition is £3.50 including a catalogue / Discovery Card Holders £2.50 / under 21s free. For more details call 01225 477233, email victoria_enquiries@bathnes.gov.uk or visit the Gallery’s website www.victoriagal.org.uk.
