Open Artspace

Open Artspace is the first open exhibition at the OPO and is open to all artists and makers resident in the UK.

The aim of the Old Parcels Office (OPO) Open Artspace exhibition:

· To showcase new and emergent work in the visual arts

· To provide an annual platform exhibiting a wide cross section of visual artworks from the Scarborough community and beyond

· To encourage people from diverse backgrounds to submit their unique creations: all are very welcome

Prizes & Opportunities

• OPO Exhibition Prize: The Board of the OPO will select up to 5 artists from the entries received, for an opportunity of a shared group show at the Old Parcels Office in 2023.
• Visitors’ Choice: £200.00 prize will be awarded to the most popular work as voted for by visitors to the exhibition. Sponsored by Yorkshire Coast Bid
• Hawthorn Printmaking Prize: £100.00 voucher for Hawthorn printmaking supplies
• Yorkshire Coast Bid Prize: £300 to an artist selected by the Yorkshire Coast Bid Team

Selection Panel

• Paula MacArthur – MacArthur is a painter, exhibiting nationally and internationally, and working from her studio in Rye, East Sussex. Alongside her painting practice she curates exhibitions, is BA Painting Tutor at Open College of the Arts and is a member, and current chair, of the artist led group Contemporary British Painting and asa part of this role coordinates a small team of members who organise the Contemporary British Painting Prize. Her current work focusses on jewels and crystals and her solo show ’Still Light’ at Rye Art Gallery continues until 20 March 2022. www.paula-macarthur.com
• Sally Gorham – Gorham’s paintings and installations take on a structured, orderly appearance. The hard-edged, concrete nature of the work borrows from the visual vocabulary of constructivism and geometric abstraction. Her playful, attention-grabbing use of colour gives her work immediate impact, transforming the space it occupies. Gorham combines her own art practice with curating exhibitions of work by emerging artists. Her work has been shown in China, Canada, USA, London and other parts of the UK. Sally is a Director of Scarborough Studios Ltd. www.sallygorham.com
• Tom Wood – Wood was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika in 1955. In 1959 he moved to West Yorkshire. As an artist he has been closely involved in the creation of The West Yorkshire Print Workshop also Yorkshire Printmakers in Leeds. He was one of the first artists to have a studio in the Dean Clough Mill Complex, Halifax and created a large studio and gallery at Phoebe Mills, Halifax, He was then employed by English Schools Foundation, Hong Kong as Senior Art Advisor. Upon returning to the UK he created the Art Academy at Redbrick Mill, Batley where he has a studio and continues to teach. He was a prolific exhibitor in group, two-man and solo shows, which included a one-man show at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford 1986, one-man exhibition at Dean Clough Contemporary Art Gallery, Halifax 1987, a one-man show: ‘HRH The Prince of Wales: A Portrait Commission’, at Dean Clough and Agnew 1989, and a solo exhibition at Wakefield Art Gallery 1990. Wood’s work is held by the Yale Centre for British Art, New Haven, HRH The Prince of Wales, The National Portrait Gallery Collection, The National Trust, London Transport Collection, The Hepworth Wakefield and numerous provincial galleries. https://artuk.org/discover/artists/wood-tom-b-1955