Summer Exhibition 2026
Summer Exhibition 2025, our prize winners
Our 2025 Summer Exhibition has completed its successful three-week run at St. Mary’s Church in Shrewsbury. Thank you to everyone who exhibited work and especially thank you to all who visited and voted for your favourite paintings. Read on for all our winners!
We were delighted to welcome the Mayor of Shrewsbury, Councillor Alex Wagner, to open the Exhibition at our Preview event on Saturday 21st June. He gave an inspiring speech asking us to celebrate our members’ and our Society’s contribution to the flourishing Shrewsbury and Shropshire arts’ scene. Thank you Alex!
At that same event the first of our three prizes this year was awarded, by the Townsend family and the Society, the Judy Townsend Memorial Prize of £100. This went to Ja Edwards for his painting, Solent Dash. Making the award on behalf of the Townsend family and in memory of his wife, Judy, Alan Townsend said that the energy of strength, challenge and movement conveyed by the painting was “amazing”. He and his daughters, Sally, Jane and Jo, unanimously felt the strength of the composition contrasting with the incredible portrayal of the light in the sea’s spray to be exciting and innovative, with the figures seeming to move as one with the yacht. He said he was inspired by the work and that the quality of it bode wonderfully well for the future of our Shropshire Art Society. No-one was surprised that by the end of the Preview, the painting had sold.
Wonderfully for Ja, we are also happy to announce that he also won the People’s Prize of £100, voted for by members of the viewing public, but for a different painting. Everyone who visits the Exhibition can vote for their favourite painting… and you chose… Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the Fading Sun by Ja Edwards. Ja’s Solent Dash was voted in second place, and in third place was Lifebelt by Phil Hadley. Very well done Ja and Phil!
This year, for the first time, a third award was made, by our members themselves, the Members’ Prize. Our members voted for their favourite painting. In first place was The Old Sawmill by Lena Jarl Churm. Solent Dash took second place and Lifebelt third place. So our congratulations go again to Ja and Phil, but this time especially to Lena, who receives the accolade of being chosen as the winner by her fellow Shropshire Art Society members!
We are grateful to everyone involved in choosing these winners, and, of course, to our Exhibition Secretary, Tim Parker, and his team of volunteers who did such a splendid job of staging the Exhibition this year. As always, too, we must express our gratitude to the Churches Conservation Trust for the beautiful historic space that is St. Mary’s. We are all already excited for 2026.
Meanwhile, we have our Permanent Exhibition space in St. Mary’s as the next part of our contribution this year to the Shrewsbury Arts Trail.
And, our Autumn Exhibition will be held in the Bear Steps Gallery, Shrewsbury from 29th September to 11th October. We look forward to seeing you there!
Summer Exhibition 2024 A Flying Start
The Shropshire Art Society’s Summer Exhibition 2024 has kicked off in splendid style. Eight original artworks were sold during the private preview event, reflecting the exceptional quality of this year’s submissions. Officially opened on Saturday June 22nd, 2024, attendees at the preview were impressed by the diversity and excellence of the works on display, all created by Shropshire artists.
The exhibition features over 130 framed pieces and 60 unframed works, along with a variety of greeting cards, available for purchase. The event is hosted in the beautiful St Mary’s Church, Shrewsbury, reknowned for its stained glass and providing a stunning backdrop for the artworks.
This year, the exhibition was inaugurated by Robert Milton, Volunteering Officer for the Churches Conservation Trust. Robert, a pivotal figure in fostering the relationship between the Society and the Trust, has been instrumental in the success of the Summer Exhibition during his 15-year tenure. His work in engaging local communities to support and value their churches has been invaluable, and he spoke passionately about his admiration for the artistic talent in Shropshire. Robert will continue his association with the Society and the Friends of St Mary’s Group after his role with the Trust concludes in six months. His continued support is highly appreciated by the Shropshire Art Society.
Phil Hadley, Chair of the Shropshire Art Society, expressed his gratitude to the volunteers, committee members, and exhibition organisers for their hard work and dedication in helping to make the exhibition such a success.
The Judy Townsend Memorial Prize
Awarded jointly by the Society and the Townsend family and judged by the Townsend family on Monday 24th June, the 2024 winner of the Judy Townsend Memorial Prize is Nicky Lokier for her striking and vibrant portrait titled “Karen”. The Townsends loved the portrait’s strength softened by the eclectic mix of floral designs in its background. ‘The portrait demands your attention when you turn the corner and see it for the first time. It draws you in, you want to know more about the person in the painting,’ said Sally, Judy’s eldest daughter. Congratulations Nicky!
The Shropshire Art Society is a vibrant community of over 200 local artists and art enthusiasts. In addition to their two annual exhibitions, the Society offers a variety of events for members, including lectures, workshops, classes, sketch and print clubs, holidays, gallery trips, and other social activities throughout the year.
The Summer Exhibition is free to the public and runs from June 22nd to July 13th, open daily from 10am to 4pm, excluding Sundays. Don’t miss this opportunity to view and purchase original artwork by talented local artists and to vote for your favourite painting in the People’s Prize, awarded at the close of the exhibition. Visit the exhibition at St Mary’s Church, Shrewsbury, and immerse yourself in the creativity and talent of Shropshire’s artistic community.
With thanks to our Exhibition Secretary, John Willetts, and his team and to Tamara Hackett and Frank Hilton for their contributions to this article.
75th Anniversary Autumn Exhibition, the winner!
The Shropshire Art Society’s 75th Anniversary Autumn Exhibition Social Event on Saturday 7th October attracted a substantial turnout, with local artists from across the Shropshire region in attendance along with their guests. This special anniversary showcase exhibition features an impressive collection of artworks contributed by our extensive membership of over 200 local artists.
The highlight of the annual Autumn Exhibition is the presentation of the Walker Harrison Prize Salver, which is awarded to the painting or artwork that best captures the essence of Shropshire’s stunning landscape. This year’s deserving recipient of the 2023 award was Wilf Langford, whose pastel depiction of “the lane to Bromlow Callow” was lauded for its atmospheric and picturesque qualities.
Phil Hadley, our Chair, introduced Corrine Brown, Chair of the Belle Vue Arts Festival, who had been invited to preside over the judging of the prize this year. She was joined by Mike Marriott, a former lecturer at the Glasgow School of Art and a member of the Belle Vue Arts Festival Committee. As independent judges, Corrine and Mike had the challenging task of selecting the winning piece from their shortlist of six outstanding works. They explained that they carefully assessed each artwork’s ability to convey the beauty of the Shropshire landscape and the technical proficiency demonstrated — in Wilf’s case, through the beautiful and sensitive use of pastels.
(please forgive the reflections in the glass in this photo!)
During Corinne’s remarks, she highlighted the Shrewsbury Belle Vue Arts Festival, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. She spoke about their commitment to supporting local artists, including an arts competition that showcased the winning work in the window of Shrewsbury’s Soden Gallery for a weekend.
Mr. Marriott provided insights into the judging criteria used by himself and Corinne for our own prize; he emphasised the importance of capturing the essence of the Shropshire landscape as well as demonstrating the technical prowess necessary to earn the coveted Walker Harrison Prize Salver.
Gratitude was extended to Corinne and Mike, as well as all those who contributed to the setup and curation of the exhibition. Thanks go especially to John Willetts, our Exhibition Organiser, and his team of volunteers. Thank you to Shirley Wade for kindly serving refreshments to us all at the Social Event.
The Autumn Exhibition is being held in the magnificent Bear Steps Gallery, a historic medieval hall meticulously preserved by the Shrewsbury Civic Society. On display are 150 framed and unframed artworks, along with an extensive selection of cards available for purchase.
The Autumn Exhibition continues until 1pm on Saturday 14th October, 10-4pm daily. We’d love you to visit and enjoy our members’ work!
Our glorious Skelwith Paintaway 2023
Note from our Webmaster: I’m slightly late publishing this blog post because we needed to report on our Summer Exhibition first, to get the word out! But, better late than never, here is the news from this year’s May Paintaway to Skelwith Bridge in the Lake District, with many thanks to Beverley Wightman, our Organiser, who planned our great escape perfectly and took care of us all so thoughtfully. She has provided this short report.
Well, what a fabulous week we all had! Eighteen hardy souls ventured north on bank holiday Monday (hmm… the M6 was… interesting!) but eventually we all got there after some slow motorway driving. The most wonderful weather greeted us – quite unusual in the Lakes – wall to wall sunshine! I’m pleased to report it remained for the whole week – not one drop of rain appeared. After last year’s trip north at a similar time of year, we were all prepared with winter woollies and waterproofs, but they were definitely not needed, but sun cream certainly was!
As previously, the welcome at the Skelwith Bridge Hotel was amazing. The staff couldn’t do enough for us and catered for our every dietary need and want. The bar before dinner was our meeting point (I think their bar takings were definitely up whilst we were there!), and the after-dinner gathering for coffee took place in their cosy lounge, a perfect size for us all to sit and be together. Two quizzes were organised during our stay – an art picture quiz, and a music quiz. Some were concerned that recent pop music might be forthcoming, but there was none of that – Beverley on her accordion played snippets of well-known tunes for participants to guess. A fun time was had by all!
The sketching/painting outdoors was blissful – aided greatly by the weather, and thank you Wilf for leading us with your generous painting demonstration. You always inspire us.
There is something wonderful about standing or sitting in a field next to a rippling river and painting or sketching, and feeling the warmth of the sun upon you. So relaxing! Chesters café, a stone’s throw from the hotel, did a roaring trade in coffee and cake during our few days there, as did the Britannia Inn at Elterwater, at the other end of the river path (a delightful walk of less than 2 miles).
We were all sad to leave on Friday, especially whilst the weather was so good, and the drive home was again challenging, but it was worth all the effort for such a fabulous week. Roll on next year!