Tutor led study event: The Contemporary British Painting Prize 2021

Students are invited to attend an event in the gallery led by Paula MacArthur, OCA Painting Tutor and coordinator of the Contemporary British Painting Prize on Saturday 11 December starting at 11am.

The Contemporary British Painting Prize 2021 is selected from an open call for paintings working in the British Isles which is organised by members of the artist led group Contemporary British Painting.

This year fifteen painters have been selected from over 1000 entrants and will each exhibit three paintings in Huddersfield Art Gallery’s new temporary space. The judges are Matthew Burrows painter, Julie Lomax CEO of A-N The Artist Information Company and Grant Scanlan curator of Huddersfield Art Gallery will choose the prizewinning painter who will be announced on 6 November.

The study event will start with a chance to look around the exhibition to view the works and students will be able to read about each of the fifteen exhibitors in the free online catalogue. A link will be available in advance of the study event.

We’ll then come together as a group to discuss the works and play the part of the judges discussing which painter we think is most deserving of being the prizewinner and consider why we agree or disagree with the official decision. Each student can pick their winner and put forward their reasons for making their selection. This will be an informal and fun event which hopes to encourage open and honest discussion of the works in the exhibition and exploration of how our responses to different works vary and why our opinions differ.

We’ll break for lunch at 1pm and students are also invited to return to the gallery to attend an optional ‘Walk and Talk’ event in the gallery from 2-4pm led by Judith Tucker, Painter and Senior Lecturer, Art and Design, School of Design, University of Leeds. Some of the exhibitors will be there to discuss their practice and answer questions you might like to ask.