29th March 2019 - 6th April 2019

St. Ives School of Painting: Young Artists

Presentation evening: Friday 5^th April, 17:30 – 19:30

Cornwall’s young artists burst onto the St Ives art scene next week in the St Ives School of Painting Young Artists’ exhibition at the historic Penwith Gallery from Friday 29^th March to Saturday 6^th April. The show will culminate with a closing celebration on Friday 5^th April from 5:30pm, where the prize winners in two age categories will be revealed, as voted for by the public.

The exhibition is the result of St Ives School of Painting’s county-wide hunt for Cornwall’s most prodigious young talent, and the response has been overwhelming. More than a hundred 13-18 year-olds applied, and a short list was hand picked by renowned artist and former Director of St Ives School of Painting, Roy Ray. The call-out encouraged young artists to challenge ideas of what drawing and painting can be, and they did not disappoint, with entries that include everything from video art to textiles. It offers remarkable insight into the artistic interpretations by young people of day-to-day life and shines a light on the hidden talent that has been budding in homes across the county.

Cat Lee, the School of Painting’s Young Artist Coordinator says, “I have been blown over by the scale of the talent presented by these young artists. With limited physical exhibition space, we’ve decided to represent each of the 105 entrants at the exhibition with a rolling screen of images to show all the fantastic work.”

VOTES WILL BE CAST for the duration of the exhibition in the space at the Penwith Gallery. These votes will decide the winners for Public Favourites in two different age categories and there will also be prizes for ‘Best in Show’ as selected by the School of Painting. ONLINE VOTES have already started on the Instagram account @porthmeor_youngartists where each piece will be posted on the lead up to the exhibition and collect likes. All five winners will be revealed at the closing party on Friday 5^th April from 5:30pm. The prizes will support young people in their artistry and bring them exposure as emerging artists.

All are very welcome to attend the exhibition to cast their vote and the closing celebration. It is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these young artists in what is truly a remarkable first artistic achievement.

For more information on the School of Painting’s Youth Programme, visit:

schoolofpainting.co.uk/young-people

For exhibition details, visit:

schoolofpainting.co.uk/young-cornish-artists and

penwithgallery.com/exhibition/new-gallery-st-ives-school-painting-youth-artists

For the School of Painting’s Instagram account, visit:

instagram.com/porthmeor_youngartists

St Ives School of Painting

Situated on St Ives’ spectacular Porthmeor Beach, the Grade II listed Porthmeor Studios building has been an inspiring workspace for artists for over a century. Today, the St Ives School of Painting operates out of two of the building’s studios. The remaining studios are rented out to local and national artists while the Tate Gallery has historically run a residency programme in Studio 5. Meanwhile, twelve boats continue to work out of the fishermen’s cellars beneath the studios.

From the late 19^th century onwards, Porthmeor Studios became an inspiring workplace and exhibition space for internationally acclaimed artists, including some of the big names of 20th Century British painting, such as Julius Olsson, Ben Nicholson, Francis Bacon, Patrick Heron and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham. Today their paint marks still decorate the studio walls where important pieces of work were created. The St Ives School of Painting has been running art classes in Porthmeor Studios since 1938. In 2000 it became a registered charity. Class sizes are kept small and tutors are all practising artists with many years teaching experience. The school provides quality tuition across a variety of artistic disciplines, suitable for all levels from complete beginners to those with more experience.

In 2010, The Borlase Smart John Wells Trust headed a £4 million renovation, supported with public funding by Arts Council England, to renovate and refurbish the building. Overseen by award-winning architects Long & Kentish, the sensitive renovations of the Grade II listed building have ensured that the features of its important heritage are not lost, while providing a facelift which enables the unique complex to move into the future as a successful and functioning workplace for both the artists and the fishermen.