Eleven of Kent and Medway’s young artists have been selected as finalists for the Bridge Wardens’ Art Prize 2011.
Their work, which includes photographs, collages, textiles and paintings, will be displayed in an on-line exhibition and at the Rochester Bridge Trust headquarters on The Esplanade during two Bridge Chapel Open Days. The Bridge Chapel will be open to the public from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday, February 26 and 27. Open Day visitors will be able to vote for their favourite among the eleven images which all address the theme “Crossing the Medway”. The most popular representation with visitors will receive a special award.
The artwork will also be judged by a panel of experts chaired by Professor Alan Cummings, Pro-Rector of the Royal College of Arts, and the winners will be announced at an Art Awards Reception on Thursday, March 3, in the Trust’s Bridge Chamber. The overall winning entry will be admitted to the Rochester Bridge Trust’s permanent art collection, which includes works by John Hopper and JMW Turner.
The 2011 finalists are Josephine King, 18, of Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School, Faversham; Anastasia Voznesenskaya, 18, of Cobham Hall, Gravesend; Sophie Hunt, 17, Isabelle Lush, Bethany Morse-Wolfe, 16, and Lydia Porter, 13, of Maidstone Grammar School for Girls; Charles Conway, 16, and George Clarke, 16, of Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School, Rochester; and Tim Filmer, 13, Brandon Miles, 13, and Jamie Morice-Jones, 12, of Blue Skies School, Rochester.
Sue Threader, Bridge Clerk of the Rochester Bridge Trust, said: “This, our second art award, is being presented by the Bridge Wardens to recognise our many young artists.
“Judges of the first Bridge Wardens Art Prize in 2007 selected a striking monochrome image of Rochester Bridge by Oliver Green, a pupil of Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School, Rochester. It has been a popular addition to our collections on display in our historic offices.”
Notes to editors:
1. The Rochester Bridge Trust is a charitable trust that exists to maintain the old and new bridges at Rochester and serve the travelling public. It is the only surviving bridge trust still serving its original purpose and it has served the people of Kent since 1399. The Trust also supports numerous community and education projects across historic Kent and Medway.
2. The Trust’s assets all derive from endowments of land and money in the 14th and 15th centuries and are carefully managed in order to provide an income to fund bridge maintenance and local charitable grants. The Trust receives no external funding and is regulated by the Charity Commission.
For more information:
The Rochester Bridge Trust
5 Esplanade
Rochester
Kent ME1 1QE
Tel: 01634 846706
Fax: 01634 840125