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Artists from in and around Banbury will be celebrated at the Banbury Museum and Gallery’s competition and exhibition.

The Ironstone Art Prize is a biennial celebration of artists working or living up to 25 miles away from Banbury and has a first-place prize of £1,000.

The winner’s and shortlisted artists work will also be displayed in an exhibition at the museum that runs from January 28 to March 10.

Sponsored by the museum along with the Museum Patron’s Circle, Banbury Visual Arts, and The Artery, the competition was open to both emerging and established artists.

Clockwise from L to R Taylor Brooker's Meet on the Threads, Matthew Holloway's Fa Rang, Jacky Radbone's Golden Sunset and Dario Jiminez's Dream Land.

Dale Johnston, exhibitions manager at Banbury Museum and Gallery, said: “Whilst we normally stipulate that artwork has to have been created in the two years prior to submission for the Prize, for Ironstone 2024, we extended this deadline back to March 2020 to take into account the delayed schedule of the competition due to the COVID pandemic.

"We predicted there may have been some great new work produced during the intervening years, and we have not been disappointed. It has been a particularly competitive year!”

The competition has seen art of all forms submitted, from paintings and prints to ceramics, photography, sculpture, weaving and embroidery.

This year there is also an under-21's category, with a cash prize that was sponsored by Barry Whitehouse from The Artery art shop in town.

The winners of the main prize and the under-21's category will be announced during a special award evening on Thursday, February 1.

For further information, including ticketing and visiting Banbury Museum and Gallery, see https://www.banburymuseum.org/

Local artists celebrated at Banbury Museum and Gallery's competition