UK's largest and longest running drawing exhibition comes to Plymouth
Plymouth Arts Centre and Plymouth College of Art have collaborated to host the prestigious Jerwood Drawing Prize in Plymouth for the first time.
The Jerwood Drawing Prize, now in its 20th year, is the UK's largest and longest running annual open for drawing.
Seventy-six works of art spanning the richness, diversity and range of contemporary drawing in the UK will be hosted across the two venues, for the touring show’s only stop in the South West.
With selections made from original art works, and decisions based on the work as presented, the Jerwood Drawing Prize has established a reputation for its commitment to championing excellence and promoting contemporary drawing practice within the UK.
Just under 3,000 entries were submitted this year for consideration by a distinguished panel of judges: Kate Brindley, Director of Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (mima); Artist Michael Craig-Martin RA; and Charlotte Mullins, Editor of Art Quarterly.
The open exhibition is a platform for artists to show their work alongside other leading contemporary artists in this field, from established artists to relative newcomers and students fresh from art school.
“The Jerwood approach to this prize is non-hierarchical," says Caroline Mawdsley, Plymouth Arts Centre's Curator of Programmes.
"Visitors to the exhibition will find drawings by students and recent graduates hung alongside the work of well known artists without prioritising one over the other."
The Jerwood Drawing Prize has seen a strong South West contingent this year, with artists from Devon, Exeter and Wiltshire, and alumni from University College Falmouth and Bristol's University of the West of England featuring in the show.
Plymouth University graduates James Eden and Olly Rooks received a student prize in the 2010 Jerwood Drawing Prize, for the video work Burst, which was also shown at Plymouth Arts Centre in January 2013.
The Jerwood Drawing Prize is the second show in Plymouth College of Art's Drawing Season.
Drawing as a discipline in its own right, was introduced to the college in September, through the specialist BA Painting, Drawing and Printmaking degree programme.
Stephen Felmingham, Head of the Painting, Drawing and Printmaking programme, said:
"Drawing is at the heart of the degree programme here, so it's great to be hosting the Jerwood Drawing Prize with Plymouth Arts Centre. It will be a great opportunity for students to experience the rich diversity of contemporary drawing practice on their own doorstep."
The Jerwood Drawing Prize opens at both venues on Thursday 13 February and runs until Sunday 9 March.
Throughout the exhibition, Plymouth Arts Centre and the Gallery at Plymouth College of Art will be hosting a free programme of events and talks by prize-winning artists. For a full programme of events at both venues visit:
