Community art goes on display in Ironbridge

The Art in the Community project is part of the celebrations to mark the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust's 50th anniversary in 2017.

It is marking the milestone with the exhibition of works of art inspired by the 10 Ironbridge museums, all created by members of the local community.

The winners of the Art of the Community competition were announced at the Grand Opening on Monday, attended by over 160 people including many of the school students and artists who had submitted work.

Georgina Grant, curator of the exhibition, said: “The response of artists to the competition is a testament to the continuing inspiration of The Gorge, its monuments and the dedicated work of the Trust. We are thrilled by the quality of the submissions and are delighted to be able to share them with visitors to this exhibition.”

The exhibition is made-up of more than 70 works of art in a variety of mediums including painting, print-making, photography, ceramics, glass, needlecraft and sculpture.

The works in the competition were judged in three categories – under 12s, 12 to17 year olds and 18 and over, plus education categories for both primary and secondary schools. The winners in each category received a cash prize, with the schools receiving the funds on behalf of their winning pupils.

The under 12 winner was Holly Ngo for her piece called My Grandma, done in pencil and paint.

The 12 to 17 category winner was Elizabeth Phillips, with her mixed media sculpture, Variety.

The winner in the 18 and over category was Jan Bell with her piece Across the Gorge in watercolour pencils and fine-line pigment ink

Primary school winners were Hollinswood Primary School with their View of Ironbridge collage while the secondary school winners were Ludlow Education Centre with collage Museum Celebration.

Among the judging panel was Councillor Nicola Lowery, ward member for the Ironbridge Gorge.

She said: "It has been an honour to be part of the judging panel for the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust's Art of the Community Exhibition and fantastic to see so many people at the awards evening.

"The standard of work submitted has been of an extremely high standard so judging the work was no easy task.

"However, we are extremely lucky to have such a talented artistic community within the local area.

"I would like to thank IGMT for all their efforts on organising this wonderful community exhibition and congratulations to all the winners and runners up."

The free-to-visit Art of the Community exhibition is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm in the Coalbrookdale Gallery, next to Enginuity until January 2.

The Art of the Community exhibition is one of a number of activities planned for the Museum Trust’s 50th anniversary year, further details can be seen at www.ironbridge.org.uk.