Open Exhibition November 2019

Private Reception and Awards Evening

Thursday 14th November 2019

The major event undertaken by SWAC in 2019 was undoubtedly our Open Exhibition, held at the magnificent rooms of Exeter Castle between Tuesday 12th and Saturday 23 November with the Private Reception and Awards Evening held on Thursday 14th November.

A warm welcome was extended to all the artists, friends and visitors as they entered from a dark and dank winter evening outside to the well-lit hallway of the Castle. With glass in hand we were invited to explore the three galleries, each providing ample space for the display of an outstanding range of paintings, sculptures, ceramics and textiles for us all to enjoy.

The opening ceremony and prize giving was held in the ballroom gallery, which this year was also devoted to sculpture.

SWAC chairman Robert Mountjoy welcomed everyone and then introduced Dr Alan Cotton who in turn welcomed our special guest and Patron Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE, OBE, DL. In the 2020 New Year Honours List it was announced that this truly warm and inspirational person, who won all of our hearts, had been made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and we offer her our sincere congratulations.

Baroness Benjamin had spent much of the time before the opening ceremony congratulating and hugging the many young school prize winners of ‘Young Art Devon’ who were also exhibiting their work selected from a field of nearly 500 entries on the theme ‘Our World’.

After an inspirational opening talk by Baroness Benjamin it was time to present the prizes kindly donated by our Academy Sponsors who all deserve our special thanks. Guest artist and Royal Academician Peter Randall-Page spoke with feeling about the place of the visual arts in our lives and presented his own special award for sculpture to Jane Chetwynd for both of her beautiful ‘Buried in the Woods’ glass works (can be viewed in the online catalogue).

The complete list of prize winners and their sponsors can be found here.

Our thanks to everyone who helped to make this exhibition one of our very best to date.

Ann Jones (Ann. L. Roe, Trustee and Hon. Academician)