Open 33 Prize Winners

The creativity of East Midlands artists' was celebrated last Friday evening at the Launch and Private View of Open 33, featuring paintings, sculptures, textiles, prints and photographs from over 350 artists.

The annual art exhibition, open now at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery, displays over 400 works by local people from complete beginners to seasoned professionals; from adults aged 19 and over, and also work by young artists aged 5 to 18.

The artists were invited with friends and family to view their creations on display in the exhibition for the first time, and prizes were awarded for the very best selected by a panel of independent judges and sponsors:

Open 33 Attenborough Prize Winner:

Susan Isaac for Lines of Power II, oil on canvas

Judges comments: "Really well painted with a very dynamic movement. Really enjoyed seeing how the orange glow comes from behind and gives a sense of warmth and a rusty, cloudy, grey, wintery mood. We like the combination of energy and precision. They’ve executed everything with enough clarity to know what it’s about - it’s not over-worked."

Congratulations to Susan, overall winner of the exhibition who collects the £1000 Attenborough prize!

Young People and Children Attenborough Prize Winners:

• Evian Baum (age 17) for A Breather, acrylic on canvas
  
  Judges comments: "Well executed use of materials, and nicely controlled values within the tonal range. It sets a very agreeable mood. It’s film-noiresque – beautiful, like something out of black and white movie - a stand-out piece for one so small."
  
  
• Juliette Welisane Mayega (age 14) for Schizophrenia Was Their Name, mixed media drawing
  
  Judges comments: "We like this because of the mature subject matter, there’s so much variety in technique, to allow the different things to be represented – translucent areas, opaque areas - it’s like an x-ray view. There’s a real understanding about the illness. They’ve allowed hints of the background to show the nicer days this girl has had, and then suddenly this demonic presence behind her, her arms bandaged up and spikes coming through. It seems like a real tough subject to have to deal with, and she’s handled it extremely well."
  
  
• Samuel Eldredge-Allen (age 7) for As Flat as a Pancake, digital drawing
  
  Judges comments: "It instantly makes you laugh. There’s a really good strength in the drawing ability with how they’ve executed the sense of falling and the ground being at an angle - gives a sense of uneasiness. The placement of the reflection in the eye and the hair blowing shows a real understanding of what they want to achieve from it. Even though there’s someone falling to the ground, there’s no menace to it. You know there’s going to be a soft landing!"

The Attenborough Prize winners were chosen by an independent panel of judges:

• Pete Underhill – Open 30 Attenborough Prize Winner
• Vishal Joshi – Artist
• Melanie Weeks – Artist
  

Gallery

Attenborough Prize Winner: Lines of Power II
Susan Isaac

Attenborough Prize (Age 16 - 18) Winner: A Breather
Evian Baum (age 17)

Attenborough Prize (Age 11 - 15) Winner: Schizophrenia Was Their Name
Juliette Welisane Mayega (age 14)

Attenborough Prize (Age 5 - 10) Winner: As Flat as a Pancake
Samuel Eldredge-Allen (age 7)

Other Prize Sponsors and Winners:

• 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).
  
  
• 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.

Congratulations to all the winners for the other category and sponsored prizes, which are all labelled in the exhibition.

View the winners' and all of the wonderful 400+ artworks on display in the Open 33 exhibition, open now until 20th January 2023.

Entry is free and all the artworks are available to buy, with prices starting at £50.

Gallery

City of Leicester Museums Trust Winner: Cat in My Garden
Claire Jackson

City of Leicester Museums Trust Winner (Age 16 - 18): Study in Blue
Wilf Birch (17)

City of Leicester Museums Trust Winner (Age 11 - 15): Woman, Life, Freedom,
Shaghayegh Behroozi (13)

City of Leicester Museums Trust Winner (Age 5 - 10)The Water of Life
Akemi Uchiha (6)