Three Counties Open Art Exhibition 2023

About

This year's Three Counties Open Art exhibition will take place again at the stunning Burslem School of Art. We received a record number of entries this year - a total of 270 individual entries, then short-listed to 100 artists selected for the exhibition. Featuring artists from Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire, the exhibition spans across various mediums and 5 rooms the school: From painting to printmaking, drawing, photography, sculpture and textiles. In addition, there will be a wonderful display of artwork from local schools, including students from Haywood Academy, Trentham Academy and Smallthorne Primary School.

The exhibition celebrates contemporary local artists, from emerging to established practitioners, sharing works created in the last 2 years. Complimentary to the exhibition, this year we are running a series of free public workshops giving people the opportunity create their own artworks, have space to explore and learn new skills.

We have worked with two student curators from Staffordshire University to support the team in the organisation and curation of work for the 2023 exhibition, plus two interns from Keele University who have played a key role in supporting with engaging local businesses, marketing and publicity. Alongside this, we have a team of local volunteers who will be on site during the summer, who will welcome visitors to the building and show people around the space.

The exhibition is open to the public to visit during the summer holidays beginning on Friday 28th July and closes on Saturday 26th August, opening hours between 11am – 3pm Tuesday to Saturday each week.

The Three Counties Open Art is organised in partnership with ArtsKeele at Keele University, Barewall Gallery, Burslem School of Art Trust, City Learning Trust, Appetite and ACAVA Spode Works.

Key Dates
Thursday 27 July 2023, 6pm: Exhibition launch event
Friday 28 July – Saturday 26 August: Exhibition opens to the public. Open Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 3pm each day

Workshops
All workshops are free and open to all. People under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. All workshops can be booked here: Three Counties Open - Book Workshops
- Saturday 5 August 12-2pm: Making Textured Clay pots with Zeba Imam
- Wednesday 12 August 12-2pm: An Introduction to Painting Skin Tones with William Ntiamoah
- Saturday 19 August 12-2pm: Light to Dark in Charcoal with Daby Obiechefu
- Wednesday 23 August 12-2pm: Cyanotype Printing with Catherine Dineley

Awards and Prizes
There are an exciting range of prizes on offer which will be announced at the private exhibition launch on Thursday 27 July including: Arthur Berry Prize, from New Vic Archive Fund: £500; Three Counties Open Art Award: £400; Appetite People's Prize, from Appetite: £250; ACAVA Studio Artist Development Award Residency; Barewall Gallery Newcomer Prize: £100; Burslem School of Art Prize: £100; City Learning Trust Young Artist Prize: £50; The Art Studio Prize, from The Art Studio, Barracks, Newcastle-under-Lyme: £75 voucher; The Sustainability Prize from North Staffs Friends of the Earth: £50. New for 2023 is the Lunar Prize which will see one artist selected by double Michelin starred chef Niall Keating to have an exhibition at Lunar at Wedgwood. The selection panel included Anna Francis from Airspace Gallery, Katey Goodwin from ArtUK, members of Appetite's Supper Club, ArtsKeele, Barewall Gallery and Burslem School of Art Trust. Visitors can vote for their favourite artwork as part of the Appetite People's Prize during the summer both at the exhibition and online. This award has a short-list of works selected by the Appetite Supper Club for you to make the final decision as to which artist receives the coveted People's Prize 2023.

Background
The Three Counties Open Art has long been supporting sharing work from artists local to the area. In 2017 the show moved from Keele University to Burslem in partnership with City Learning Trust, Barwall Art Gallery and Burslem School of Art Trust. In the summer of 2022, we opened the doors at Burslem School of Art for the first time since the pandemic to host the exhibition again in real life following two years of online exhibitions. In 2023, around 270 artists (100 more artists than in 2022!) From across Staffordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire submitted work and of those 100 are selected for the show. There will be a wide variety of works on display, ranging between different mediums and approaches, Drawing, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Textiles and Sculpture.