Artists have only 1 month remaining to enter a prestigious sculpture exhibition that is set to be opened by Sir Tim Smit in July. Stone Lane Gardens are opening their doors once again to up and coming artists as part of their annual Ashburner prize. The open call for entries will close on March 31st 2022. Sir Tim Smit, a founder of internationally recognised innovative Eden Project, will open the exhibition to the public in July 2022.
RHS partner garden Stone Lane shares The Eden Projects ethos of preservation and cultivation. As well as being a beautiful sanctuary, the gardens are of particular scientific value and have over 69 different types of birch trees. The exhibition will invite emerging artists with a connection to the South West to submit proposals for work and once selected will be displayed throughout the gardens, immersed in the natural surroundings.
The panel of judges is made up of gardens trustee Sandy Lipo, internationally renowned ceramic sculptor Sandy Brown and author and academic Penny Florence. This year marks the 30th anniversary of an annual exhibition at Stone Lane Gardens. The Ashburner Prize builds on the legacy of founders June and Kenneth Ashburner. This year the judges have decided to assign the theme of ‘connectivity’ to the exhibition. This theme is intended to be interpreted by each artist.
The Ashburner prize panellists say, ‘Connectivity implies affinity, openness, both being receptive to, and actively seeking, relatedness’. All works within the exhibition will be open to sale and the winner of the Ashburner Prize will be awarded 1000 prize money. Last year the exhibition was won by artist Nicola Turner with her piece This Mortal Coir.
Turner says ‘I was so honoured to win the Ashburner Prize 2021. It gave me encouragement and support at an early stage in my artistic practice. It also enabled me to open up conversations with people in the art world and to get feedback and advice on how to develop.
‘Stone Lane is such a magical environment to work in. Every time I visited it, was a joy to wander and discover all the exhibits nestled in its corners.’
For a chance to enter the 2022 Stone Lane Exhibition, sell your art there, and win the 1000 prize, artists can submit photographs of their work and details of a proposed piece including dimensions and weight if possible here - www.stonelanegardens.com/2022/01/sculpture/