Monkton Arts, the cafe and arts centre located on East Street, in the ‘Monkton Village’ area of Ryde, has announced the winners of the Monkton Arts Prize 2021.
Launched in June, this Open Arts prize was open to Island-based artists who could submit art of any medium and topic.
Over 150 submissions
Over 150 submissions were received from a myriad of styles and themes, making the shortlisting of 50 pieces for a two-week exhibition an unenviable challenge for the panel of four local experts, including the three resident artists at Monkton Arts (whose open studios can be found on the first floor) and an external expert with an extensive background in international arts installations.
Shortlist exhibition
The shortlist exhibition took place in the Acons Gallery at Monkton Arts from Tuesday 3rd August, culminating in the final awards ceremony on the evening of Saturday 21st August, featuring live music from Ruby Howard, winner of the Island’s Got Talent competition.
The top three
Prizes were kindly gifted from a range of sponsors, including a £1000 First Prize gifted from local supporters of the arts and awarded to Mr Andrew Hird, a local contemporary figurative landscape painter and Ryde artist.
Andrew said that he was humbled to receive the first prize and added that,
“Monkton Arts has been an amazing asset to the local community and is a fantastic platform for local artists.”
The Second prize of £500 was sponsored by Indigo Graphics and awarded to Mr Steve Baxter, a retired art teacher, for his colourful plasterwork tiles produced during lockdown.
The third prize, sponsored by Rapanui, was awarded to Mrs Jo James of Woven Focus who is excited about using the vouchers to ethically source promotional materials to further promote her work.
Bringing the community together
Cllrs Michael Lilley and Charles Chapman emphasised how successful Monkton Arts had been at bringing the community together and how they expected the Monkton Arts Prize to move from strength to strength each year.
People’s Choice
During the shortlist exhibition, visitors were asked to vote for their personal favourite toward the People’s Choice prize of £200 (sponsored the Arty Card Company) and a month as ‘Artist of the Month’ in the Lounge Cafe, the coffee-fuelled engine at the heart of Monkton Arts and won by Elaine Saunders for her colourful feltwork ‘Fantasy, Flowers & Fritillaries’.
Will become a prestigious annual event for the arts calendar
The team at Monkton Arts would like to thank the Isle of Wight arts community for their amazing enthusiasm and for the volume of submissions which made the competition such a success.
Jenna Sabine and Dawn Fidler, Co-Founders of Monkton Arts, said,
“The competition was a great way to bring communities together after lockdown and so many people commented on the amazing eclectic quality of the exhibition. The competition will become a prestigious annual event for the arts calendar!”
Extension to Children’s Arts Prize
The deadline for the Monkton Arts Children’s Arts Prize, which was launched at the same time, has been extended to 6th October, for entrants under 16 years (visit the website below for more details).
Visit Monkton Arts at 11 East Street, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 1JP or online via the Website.
News shared by Jenna on behalf of MonktonArts. Ed
