The Open, Salford Museum & Art Gallery’s art exhibition and competition returns this autumn for a second year. This special celebration of local talent showcases the best artwork from anyone born, living, working or studying in Salford.
This is a chance for budding and established artists to share their work and exhibit at the historic gallery. Plus, anyone who took advantage of lockdown to pick up a canvas and brush or return to a piece they had started but not finished are also encouraged to enter.
Work can be submitted in any medium including painting, drawing, print, photography, textiles, sculpture, mixed media and digital. There’s no age restrictions, all that’s needed is inspiration.
The Open [2] aims to encourage both established and amateur artists, as well as art students and young people. This is a unique opportunity for all to have their artwork exhibited.
For artists looking to enter, there are three days to submit artwork to Salford Museum & Art Gallery. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, submission slots must be pre-booked in advance to drop-off pieces. These dates are Thursday 19, Friday 20 and Saturday 21 November.
The exhibition itself will run from 5 December 2020 to 21 February 2021 and will feature a range of pieces selected from all submissions. Those featured in the exhibition, will then be entered into a competition with prizes up for grabs. There will be a first prize, as voted for by a panel of judges, a People’s Choice winner and also a Young Artist Award.
Councillor David Lancaster, lead member for environment and community safety, said:
“The city has a strong a reputation for nurturing creativity and Salford Museum & Art Gallery has always provided a platform to showcase local talent. Our hope is that the Open [2] will help inspire the next generation of local artists.”
Head of Salford Museum & Art Gallery, Ceri Horrocks, said:
“After the closure of the museum and art gallery during lockdown, we were concerned we might not be able to run the Open this year, but we’re delighted we can now give local artists another chance to exhibit. We’ve all heard the stories of more and more people using lockdown time to develop their creativity and this is a great space to show their work. We encourage everyone to send us the pieces they have been busy with and look forward to receiving all the submissions. We can’t wait to see the range of talent from across the city.”
Previous winner, Kate Downes, 50, who studied in Salford and won with her etching ‘From the coastal path’, said:
“I really like Open Exhibitions as everyone has a chance to put their work forward, and the Salford one is brilliant because it’s such a beautiful gallery. I loved seeing my work on display and it was an honour to scoop first prize. I’d recommend all aspiring artists to enter and showcase their talents.”
To enter the Open [2], people are asked to review the submission guidelines online, provide artist and artwork information via an online form and book a submission slot to drop off their work.
There is a charge of £5 per entry. Each person may submit up to two entries. This is non-refundable, payment is by card when they come to the gallery to hand-in their work.
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