Delighted to be able to visit RAGM Rugby Open exhibition last Friday to decide who to award the 2D and 3D Art at the Alex prizes to. This year the winners were Jane Tilley (whose work we are already familiar with and have hosted at the Alex before) and her daughter Carmen Tilley (who is an art student in her final year and whose work we had seen at previous Rugby Opens but never here. Jane is pictured here getting quite excited!
The prize is space to show a body of work here at the Alex during one of next year’s exhibitions. So we look for artists who will show something new here and who have work we feel will fit in with the Alex environment. There is a 2D and 3D prize and we have been delighted to host exhibitions in 2024 by 2023 winners embroiderer Leah Stewart (Hungry Hector textiles) and Val Hunt (3D sculpture using waste metal d rinks cans). This year we showed glassware by the 2024 winners Melissa Keskinkilinc (Melissa’s Melting Pot) and some great prints by Charlotte Ashman (Charlotte’s Arts) a canal artist who we have worked consistently with through the year. We also invited Bridget Aldridge, ceramicist, to exhibit because we were so tempted by her work at the Rugby Open 2024 and her showtime was last month.
In this third year we were more confident in what we are looking for and its by chance that we chose Jane (we really like her new work, the gnarliness and references to Egon Schiele’s drawings). She was first on our shortlist for 3D award and we decided quickly that she deserved this award even though she is not a new artist here. The 2D award was a more difficult call, but we liked the quirkiness of Carmen’s work, it just seemed such a good fit with the Alex. We had a longer list of 2D contenders and some we may go back to and offer exhibition space to in the way we did with Bridget. But only two get to take the award home with them.
Look out for Jane and Carmen Tilley at Art at the Alex in 2026 (dates tbc) and admire the arrangements of the two awards side by side for this year. Quite an arrangement.
Congratulations to all the artists and please do go and see the exhibition. Lots of great work. More about the other award winners here.