What I liked at the Society of Women Artists 165th Annual Exhibition

I was mentally sending good wishes to the Society of Women Artists who had their 165th Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries last week. That was because last week was ridiculously hot weather wise in London (c.35°C / 95°F) for most of the week)!

Anybody who went would have actually enjoyed a very pleasant air conditioned gallery - with refreshments on tap!

However I was busy with other prebooked / prior commitments for the first half of the week. 

Then my brain started to fry because my 18" thick brick walled home had heated up! I was struggling to keep the temperature inside below 30°C - while my brain fried.... despite having all the windows closed and all the blinds down!

The incentive to go out - where it was even hotter - was minimal!

Which is by way of explanation as to why no visit on Tuesday and why no review.

I am eventually going to work out who painted this....

However, I did get there on Saturday afternoon, when it was a few degrees cooler, and managed to photograph the artwork in all the Galleries just before it closed.

Interestingly one comment I saw about the exhibition online was "better than the RA Summer Exhibition" and - having visited that particular exhibition with my sister (who was over from Australia) on Tuesday - I can confirm that comment was very far from fanciful in nature.

You can see my albums of photos of the exhibition on my Making A Mark Facebook Page

• West Gallery
• East Gallery 
• North Gallery

10 things I liked about the SWA Annual Exhibition 2026

• I thought a lot of the art was very much better than a lot of the open entries and some of the RA artwork in the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. Below was one of the standout pieces. 
• What I noticed in particular was there was a very strong entry by the open artists. You really need to raise your game to get selected nowadays!

"Suffer the little children" by Penny Hardy
(mild steel)
who uses her sculpture to raise money for UNICEF

• The hang was excellent - and one of the best I've seen in the Mall Galleries this year so far. Parts of the hang were definitely superior. It came across as very considered. 

Call for Entries: Society of Women Artists 164th Annual Exhibition (2025)

This is about the call for entries for the Annual Open Exhibition 2025 of the Society of Women Artists (SWA).  

The SWA seeks works of the highest standard within its specific field. The SWA continues to promote female artists and prides itself on the very diverse nature of the work shown during our Annual Open Exhibition from both our non-members and our members.

Below you can find a summary of how to enter and relevant terms and conditions - although you do need to read the complete set of details.

All the images below are from the Annual Exhibition in 2024.

SWA Annual Exhibition: Call for Entries

The Society of Women Artists exhibits at the Mall Galleries on an annual basis (although not a member of the Federation of the British Artists).  This year the exhibition will be held there between 24th June to 28th June 2025 (5 days ONLY).

The DEADLINE for entries is 8th March 2025. If you enter, you can find out whether you have been successful if you visit the SWA website on or after the 29th March 2025.

In this post you can find:

• details of the exhibition
• who is eligible to enter
• what types of artwork are eligible
• how to enter 

but, first, why enter this exhibition?

Why enter the SWA Annual Exhibition?

East Gallery, SWA Annual Exhibition 2024

The Society of Women Artists have been on an important journey of improvement in recent years. It's one which can provide lessons for other art societies - in a variety of ways.

In general the artwork has improved over time and the number of younger artists now exhibiting with the Society has improved.

There's also a keen sense of the exhibition being a place where women artists can exhibit work on themes with meaning to women - which might get overlooked by panels where men make up the majority of the members.

OPEN EXHIBITION 2025 REMINDER #2: Other National Art Societies

This is the third of my posts this week about annual open exhibitions of leading national art societies and how you can improve your chances of selling your art.

This post is about the "other" national art societies:

• The Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture
• The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts

and the "other" specialist art societies - also exhibiting at the Mall Galleries in 2025

• Society of Graphic Fine Art
• Society of Women Artists
• Society of Botanical Artists

This follows on from my first two posts which were:

• OPEN EXHIBITION 2025 REMINDER #1: (Mall Galleries) - about the call for enries for the open annual exhibitions  by FBA Societies held at the Mall Galleries between January and June 2025
• Pricing your art for Open Exhibitions - a review of a sample of exhibition metrics for 2024 - about what past performance on sales at the annual exhibitions held by FBA Societies on 2025. 

The second post - about pricing - provides some invaluable information about sales in relation to prices across all the FBA societies. It's of much relevance to those submitting artwork for ALL open exhibitions at the Mall Galleries

OTHER NATIONAL ART SOCIETIES

The Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture | RSA Annual Exhibition 

• Website: https://www.royalscottishacademy.org/
• Call for Entries: https://royalscottishacademy.oess1.uk/Home/Index/575 
• Regulations: https://www.royalscottishacademy.org/usr/library/documents/main/ox_art_regulations_25_1.pdf
• Open Art FAQs
• International Exhibitor information
• Deadline for Entries: 5pm on 6th February 2025
• Exhibition: 3rd May - 8th June
• Venue: Royal Scottish Academy
• Who can enter: Any artist aged 18 or over may enter, from anywhere in the world.
• What can you enter:
• up to TWO works in any size and in any fine art media.
• Original prints are encouraged but reproductions are not
• all work muse be a living artist and completed in the last 8 years
• all work must be for sale
• NOT previously exhibited in London
• Framed and unframed works are accepted. Latter must be supplied with hanging instructions
• Not Eligible for Entry: 
• No reproductions of original work and 
• no works that have previously been exhibited at the RSA, or any other exhibition in the RSA building,
• Pricing: 
• price of art on submission form is the wall price ie price paid by buyer
• minimum price of £300
• Prints only – framed £180, unframed £120
• 40% commission + VAT charged on all sales
• Entry Fee: 
• Standard: £20 per artwork for a maximum of 2 artworks
• Young person under 26 / Student / Recent Graduate: £10 per artwork for a maximum of 2 artworks
• Hanging Fee: a £10 hanging fee must be paid online at Pre-selection or on delivery of the work in cash.
• Delivery: 
• Artists may not hand in different or substitute works to those that have been pre-selected. 
• Works must be unwrapped before handing to RSA staff and all packing must be removed from the gallery. 
• Work will not be received outside the stated hours.
• Reasons to enter:
• the largest and longest-running annual exhibition of contemporary art and architecture in Scotland
• pre-eminent exhibition for all Scottish artists
• longer exhibition than other national art societies (although not as long as the RA's equivalent of the Summer Exhibition)

Review: 163rd Annual Exhibition of Society of Women Artists (2024)

The 163rd Annual Exhibition of the Society of Women Artists opened at the Mall Galleries on Wednesday.

The Red Wall in the West Gallery

[UPDATE: This blog post has been updated since first published as the online exhibition is now online - see below for links.]

It's listed as the "163rd Annual Open Exhibition" because the Society

• started as the Society of Female Artists in 1855
• started holding Annual Exhibitions in London since 1857
• became the Society of Lady Artists in 1869
• became the Society of Women Artists in 1899

Their annual exhibition is an International Open Exhibition and invites submissions from women artists around the world. An annual exhibition has been held every year except for 1941 to 1946 - due to the Second World war and 2020-2021 when Online Exhibitions were held due to the global pandemic.

There's a very interesting page about its history on their website

The society has had many notable artists among its members. Dame Laura Knight, the first woman Royal Academician, was elected president in 1932 and retained that office until she retired in 1968 to become a Patron.[9] Illustrator Mabel Lucie Atwell and Suzanne Lucas,[10] past President of the Society of Botanical Artists and the first woman president of Royal Miniature Society (now known as Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers), were also members. Current members include Daphne Todd, the first female President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters from 1994–2000 and winner of the BP Portrait Award 2010, portraitist June Mendoza, and Philomena Davidson, first woman President of the Royal British Society of Sculptors (now known as Royal Society of Sculptors).

SWA Annual Exhibition 2024

View of the West Gallery

I arrived late to the exhibition as it was an extremely hot day and there was a lot of walking involved in travelling from the Bankside Gallery where I had been to the Opening Day of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers to the Mall Galleries where the SWA Exhibition is being held until 29th June

If travelling to London to see either exhibition, I recommend you take the time to see both exhibitions - but you've only got until Saturday 29th June to see the SWA. 

There are demonstrations every day. On tomorrow and Saturday these are:

• Tessa Jane - Exploring Fragments of Time | Friday 28th June AM
• Kristine Nason - Narratives in oil and cold wax | Friday 28th June PM
• Elizabeth Nast - Depicting the ordinary in the urban landscape | Saturday 29th June AM
• Cathy Read - Dynamic cityscapes | Saturday 29th June PM

Main observations on the exhibition

This is an exhibition which:

• attracts over 3,000 entries via the open entry
• selects a large number of works for hanging or display in the exhibition - across all three galleries of the Mall Galleries
• aims to achieve a 50:50 ratio in relation to
• artwork exhibited by members
• artwork selected from the open entry
• AND in the way the artwork is exhibited

All the above is admirable and has resulted in some impressive exhibitions in the past - but less so this year.

As always with my helpful critique hat on and plainspeaking mode switched on, this is what I found

• they had over 3,000 entries to this open exhibition
• [UPDATE: they selected 239 artworks from non-members - which is way more than most art societies exhibiting at the Mall Galleries select]
• they hung/show some 490 artworks in total - which to my mind is far too many for the space
• there was no catalogue available yesterday when they attracted hordes to the opening - which is a very great pity because 
• the exhibition is not online on either the Mall Galleries website or the SWA website and that means no scope for online sales. 

[UPDATE: The exhibition is now available online - if you look at the thumbnail view you can see the artworks which have sold online (but not what price they sold for). You can also see

• artworks by SWA Members
• artworks by non-members]

You can however also see what it looks like in my photographs of the exhibition on my MaM Facebook Page. However I cannot say who did what because I have had no reference when I wrote this post!

• SWA Annual Exhibition 2024 | West Gallery
• SWA Annual Exhibition 2024 | East and North Galleries

This is the list of ALL artists selected for the exhibition (both members and open entry artists). However unlike last year you cannot click their names to see their work online. I'm not sure why not - but think this change is a mistake.  [UPDATE: The selection on the call for entries site is on a different URL to that for the online exhibition]

Two excellent botanical artworks hung in the wrong space.
The one at the bottom is by Toni Dade who has just won her second RHS Gold Medal
and is currently exhibiting at the Saatchi Gallery

I have to say while I liked some of the artwork - and there's a lot which is good, I did not love the exhibition. 

• I think because this year there were just too many works which I'd have edited out (and they weren't just from the open entry). 
• I like the RA approach of "selected but not hung". By all means give yourself scope to hang as many as you need - but do not lose the big picture by hanging too many - including those which really should have been left out at the digital stage.

One benefit of the SWA approach to hanging is that they're not obliged to hang all submissions by members - which does give them some latitude. However I think they maybe need to be reviewing whether the notion that "a member's work should always be better than open entries" is a yardstick which might need to be exercised more in relation to selection.

I also observed

• lots of small artworks - which to me looked too crowded in the walls around where the tables and chairs are normally located. They were also hung much too high and much too low. If you cannot read the label easily, then you've got the hang wrong. When you select this many, you also need to very mindful of the space they need and allocate more space to allow people to READ THE LABELS EASILY! This was an issue which could have been neatly resolved by just taking more space for small artworks in the West Gallery.

one of the small works walls

• A very impactful red wall at the end of the West Gallery. However congregating all the artworks with red in one place did leave some of the other walls looking a tad  anaemic in places. Plus too much red in one space is quite hard on the eyes. Red draws the eye - but having lots of red has your eyes not knowing where to look next. I certainly didn't want to look at it for too long.

One of the walls featuring portraits and people in the North Gallery

I liked the fact paintings of groups were included
- there are far too few artists who can paint convincing groups
and these paintings by Anne Blankson Hemans were a great cultural statement

• the portrait / people section of the North Gallery impressed - a LOT. I particularly liked the diversity of styles and the imagination demonstrated by some artists in terms of how portraits and people can be painted. Hanging all the portraits together lends a coherence to the presentation and the impact of the artwork hung overall. I also saw  one very flowery wall and an animal corner. It's maybe worth thinking about whether the same approach might work for some landscapes and still lifes. If it was it was less evident.

One of the sculpture stands in the West Gallery

• as always, the exhibition includes a rich choice of scupture and 3D work done in various media. Some included subject matter on a female theme. However I was very impressed by some amazing bronze work by Jane Morgan ASWA

Strawberry Sunday by Jane Morgan
Bronze, painted in oils, lacquered

My recommendations for the next exhibition

I think my overall conclusion this year is that this exhibition "could do better" and indeed has in the past.

So I'm optimistic that, given I've delivered some critical comments in the past which led to an significant improvement, the following comments will be taken in a constructive way.

• don't have such a very SHORT exhibition - open for four days only is simply not worth the effort. This is not a "pop-up"! Exhibit every other year if you want to save money (as some now do) or find another venue for a smaller members only exhibition in the inbetween years if you want to maintain the "exhibits in London on an annual basis" record.
• do NOT omit the online version - most art societies exhibiting at the Mall Galleries are making sales before their exhibitions even open these days. 
• change your printer (and I'd very much suggest you do NOT pay the invoice for this year's catalogue - because non-delivery for a timed event is a major ****** and fails to fulfil the terms of the contract)
• focus on quality and curation. Try and be more discriminating and select fewer artworks - aim to hang/show no more than c. 400
• be much more discriminating about entries by members - some were very definitely not up to snuff - and it's not a nice task but sometimes members need to be told this. 
• stop hanging artwork too high or too low - it cannot be seen by visitors and the latter MUST BE ABLE TO READ THE LABELS or they will not sell
• nothing wrong with lots of small artworks - they tend to sell well if priced right - so allow these to have more space - at a reasonable eye level - to be seen and attract buyers
• consider having spaces clearly for landscapes or still life and see if you can achieve the same impact as is achieved for the area of portraits in the North Gallery
• if you want to hold annual exhibitions - particularly at the Mall Galleries which is not cheap - you MUST focus on the financials.
• Do encourage artwork in the affordable price ranges
• Provide guidance to artists about sale prices (I preach about this on a regular basis)
• Check high prices by size and calibre/background of the artist - you have some very good artists exhibiting - but not all are.
• Do NOT accept artwork with silly prices and no evidence that this had been achieved by this artist in the past
• ALWAYS hang quality artwork in quality places - so it gets noticed!
• be aware of the walls which are NOT normally used for hanging!!
  
  

REFERENCE

See my blog posts below for more about past exhibitions

• Review: 162nd Annual Exhibition of Society of Women Artists (2023)
• Society of Women Artists - Online Annual Exhibition 2021
• Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2019
• Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2018
• VIDEO Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2017 - which highlights pieces which caught my attention
• Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2017 - which highlights changes made to the exhibition
• Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2016
• Review - Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2015

Review: 162nd Annual Exhibition of Society of Women Artists (2023)

This week sees the 162nd Annual Exhibition of the The Society of Women Artists' at the Mall Galleries. I highly recommend you get along to the Mall Galleries if you can before it closes 5pm on Saturday 10th June.

This post covers:

• how to see the exhibition
• what I liked about this exhibition - and what niggles I had 
• the Prize and Award Winners
• an archive of my past reviews of previous SWA exhibitions

West Gallery - the end wall and what you can't see from the entrance!

It's an international exhibition with artwork being produced by women artists from the UK and abroad. 

• This year it comprises 488 artworks - paintings and drawings in all media, fine art prints and ceramics, sculpture & other 3D works 
• At: Mall Galleries
• Dates: 6 June 2023 to 10 June 2023 (10am - 5pm) - it's shorter this year
• Admission: £3
• You can also see the exhibition online
• You can also see my photos in albums on Facebook:
• West Gallery
• East Gallery
• North Gallery

I was a little apprehensive going see it yesterday. However my concerns about how well I was (recovering from bad laryngitis + experiencing bad hay fever!) went out the window as soon as I arrived and my eyes were assaulted by a visual feast. There's nothing like a good art exhibition to make you feel better!

This was once I'd got past the guard on the door. Lots of visitors to the exhibition and events meant the doorman had to count people in only after people left the previous evening. When I walked in I could see why - the place was buzzing with activity and people viewing the art

What I like about the SWA Exhibition

East Gallery at the end of the day - when you scan the gallery

These are some of the things that the SWA do really well in my opinion.

The SWA create a VERY diverse and eclectic exhibition with a wide variety of media, subject matter, individual styles and LOTS of innovative artwork. 

• It's a bit like the RBA Exhibition - but on steroids. 
• It generated a "wow" from me from the top of the stairs! It's an exhibition you will not forget visiting!
• those who are interested can review my photos on Facebook (see links above) and those on the SWA's Facebook Page

West Gallery from the stairs

This is a Society which is not afraid of colour and the exhibition is always bright, colourful and energising.  I suspect this probably means dull and worthy artwork gets excluded at the selection stage.

some of the colourful artwork in the West Gallery

Colourful artwork in the East Gallery mixed with perspective on being female

This is a Society which ALWAYS has a ratio of 50:50 for member artworks and those selected from the Open Entry. This to me is the mark of an art society which takes it role in starting artists' careers seriously.

The artwork by members and non-members is mixed right across all three galleries. There's none of the nonsense of members insisting they must be in the West Gallery and all the open can go in the North! Hence there's a more unified sense with themes being used in part and a better balance across the exhibition. It feels like a more emancipated exhibition!

Review Part 2: 161st Annual Exhibition of the Society of Women Artists

Part 2 of  my review of the annual exhibition of the Society of Women Artists at the Mall Galleries covers the exhibition as a whole in relation to:

• 469 artworks on display - with a high standard
• The ratio of members artwork to artwork selected from the open entry is 50:50. The latter has been selected from over 3,000 entries via the call for entries from non members
• a very great deal of 'fresh' artwork with "same old same old" at a minimum
• an outstanding exhibition sculpture
• a very impressive gallery of portraits
• better than some other art society exhibitions at the Mall Galleries

Yesterday I published Part 1 of my Review: 161st Annual Exhibition of the Society of Women Artists - which focused on the prizewinners.

Some of the sculpture in the West Gallery

The exhibition is open daily at the Mall Galleries 10am - 5pm - except for the last day (Sunday 11th September) when it closes at 1pm.

This is the list of artists selected for the exhibition - click their names to see their work online

Attractiveness of this Open Exhibition

This is an exhibition which:

• attracts over 3,000 entries via the open entry
• selects a large number of works for hanging or display in the exhibition - across all three galleries of the Mall Galleries
• aims to achieve a 50:50 ratio in relation to
• artwork exhibited by members
• artwork selected from the open entry
• AND in the way the artwork is exhibited

The latter 50:50 in particular is a very attractive proposition for those women artists wanting to enter open art exhibitions. It's a ratio not always achieved by the national art societies who rather too often tend to favour their members.

West Gallery

Moreover the exhibition is hung in such a way that it mixes up the artwork by members and non-members right across the exhibition. There's no "hogging" particular galleries by members and no sense of any dip in the quality of the work as you get into the North Gallery and move back - which is, to my mind, a feature of a few too many exhibitions held at the Mall Galleries.

So overall - this is an exhibition which demonstrates a very fair and even-handed approach to artwork by both members and non-members.

East Gallery - end wall

Quality of the Artwork

Review: 161st Annual Exhibition of the Society of Women Artists (Part 1: Prizewinners)

I visited the 161st Annual Exhibition of the Society of Women Artists at the Mall Galleries yesterday. I highly recommend you get along to the Mall Galleries if you can before it closes on Sunday 11th September.

Two large charcoal drawings exhibited in the East Gallery

The artwork can also be seen via an online exhibition.

Here's a summary of the highlights of my review - which I apologise for truncating and posting late due to the events of this afternoon.

PART 1:

• a packed Private View
• a good range of prizes - won by SWA members and open artists

PART 2:

• 469 artworks on display - with a high standard
• The ratio of members artwork to artwork selected from the open entry is 50:50. The latter has been selected from over 3,000 entries via the call for entries from non members
• a very great deal of 'fresh' artwork with "same old same old" at a minimum
• an outstanding exhibition sculpture
• a very impressive gallery of portraits
• better than some other art society exhibitions at the Mall Galleries

The exhibition is open daily 10am - 5pm - except for the last day when it closes at 1pm.

Private View & Prizes

Society of Women Artists - Online Annual Exhibition 2021

This is the second year the Society of Women Artists have opted for an Online Annual Exhibition as a Virtual Gallery. Given not knowing how effective jabs would be, what the resistance to jabs might be and whether there'd be another variant which made all this academic are some jolly good reasons to be very cautious!

The exhibition is online until 31st December - so plenty of time to view it - and view it again!

Reviewing an Online Exhibition

That said, I find it very difficult to review Online Exhibitions. I've been trying to work out the reasons why - and here's some thought to date

• I really like to walk around an exhibition - at a distance from the artwork to get a sense of the exhibition as a whole and what some if its themes or highlights (and lowlights) might be. On this circuit, I'm looking to see what catches my eye. I can "sort of" do something similar with an online exhibition - except all artwork is diminished to similar size images - which knocks my sense of scale out the window!
• Then I walk around again and look at each artwork in turn - and this time I check the labels to ee what media it is and who created it. Naturally I get a very good sense of size - which I particularly miss when viewing online. I do so wish each image had a standard size "something or other" in the picture as well or a "this is what it would like on a wall next to a standard sized sofa" to give me that sense of scale.
• Then I ponder on what I've seen - and walk around again to revisit images - and see if I've missed anything for the third circuit

When I say this is what I like to do, in reality this is what I used to do. I can't do that much walking any more so in some ways I better get myself attuned to reviewing online exhibitions because that's all I''ll be looking at for a few months (hopefully soon - if I ever get a date for surgery!).

The other thing I note particularly when I see the online exhibition and then see the real artworks on the wall is I get a very good sense of which look rather better online then they do in reality! You'd be surprised!

Finally, I'm one of those people who likes to get up very close and personal with some artworks - because I want to see "how they did it". I want to see the layers and the brushstrokes - and this, more than anything else, is what I miss when I can only view and online exhibition.

That's not to say it's not possible to really appreciate an artwork online - but on the whole I do feel you do need access to a very large image which you can zoom in on. Indeed some of the images I've been sent by museums and art galleries in the past gave me an insight into work which was better than seeing it on the wall.  The nearest analogy for what I mean is the artworks you can see in Google Arts and Culture.

Review: SWA Online Annual Exhibition 2021

I have th option of looking at:

• individual artworks
• pages of thumbnails
• artwork by artist

I opt for the thumbnails first and then the artists. 

The great thing about thumbnails is it's like my first circuit of a gallery. I'm just looking at images. I don't know who the artist is or what it's made from. I like the fact I get the title of the piece if I hover over the image.

I notice I get pickier as I work my way through the pages....

Initial impressions - as I look at the thumbnails 

• the overall quality of the artwork is good - and some is very good
• unsurprisingly, women feature in a lot of the paintings
• many artists seem very attuned to what artwork looks like on a screen and know how NOT to create flat boring artwork - however this is not a lesson which has been learned by all
• there were far fewer paintings relating to the last 18 months prior to the exhibition opening than I was expecting

I did look at a few as individual artworks on the way through. 

Individual artists whose artwork stood out for me included

I very much like the fact that artwork bvy artist not listed alphabetically by surname. I get so fed up with those whose surname is at the beginning of the alphabet not having to incur the problems associated with viewing fatigue - because it is more taxing to look online compared to in an art gallery.

I'm going to highlight the artwork that particularly catches my eye below. Some of the reasons are:

• they included red - it always works
• they had a strong monochrome shape and design
• the image read well as a thumbnail - and wasn't too complex or cluttered

Some caught my eye for the wrong reason i.e. they were trying really hard to look like other successful artists. I'm not interested in whether you look like somebody else - I want to know what your unique style looks like.

Some caught my eye as a thumbnail - and then failed to deliver when I saw a larger image. Art has to work from across the gallery (or as a thumbnail) and close up.

These are the people who stood out for me

• Linda Kritskaya Website: www.lindakritskaya.com/ Instagram: linda_kritskaya_art/ - a Russian artist who apparently does not speak English (based on her Instagram). Her three pastels of children are excellent. Her pricing is way off though which I take to be unfamiliarity with showing in the UK.

Back to School 1, 2 and 3

• Iona Howard Website: www.ionahoward.com Instagram: iona.howard - Her works in Carborundum, Collagraph and Drypoint read well on screen. Of the two, I preferred Towards The Church On Great North Fen She's a very well educated and experienced contemporary printmaker who lon the Fen Edge near Cambridge for the last twenty years - and it shows in her work. She's somebody who I'd like to see more artwork from in other shows.
• Katherine Reekie Website: katherinereekie.co.uk/ Instagram: katherinereekieartist/ Facebook: katherine.reekie - Her still life compositions using frames were novel and intriguing - both of which are characteristics I like to see in artwork. She was made an Associate Member of the SWA and received the received the ‘President and Vice Presidents’ Award’ in The Society of Women Artist’s 160th Annual Open Exhibition 2021. (Note: I intentionally did not look at the awards until after I'd reviewed the artwork)
• Sally Solomon Website: www.sollysolomon.com/ Instagram: solly_solomon/ Facebook: sollysolomon.art/  - her oil painting 'You Have No Idea Of The Gift You Once Gave Me' is very striking and the reason why it was painted was very poignant. It just goes to show that those who paint from the heart often impress.
• Sheila Goodman SWA PS http://www.sgart.co.uk - I'm a fan of Sheila Goodman which I date back to when she won The Threadneedle prize in 2009 (see Sheila Wallis wins £25,000 Threadneedle Prize 2009). 
  However her paintings in this exhibition just jumped off the page at me. I knew I knew the artist and I thought it might be Sheila a I've seen landscapes by her I've really liked in the past - and these felt similar when viewed as thumbnail.
  

Two of four Pastel Paintings by Sheila Goodman

• Ayna Paisley www.aynapaisley.com/ - Her two paintings did not jump out when I viewed the thumbnails but instantly got my attention when I viewed artworks by artist
• Doreen Langhorn  www.doreenlanghorn-artist-official-site.com - Her two paintings were instantly recognisable as pandemic related. Interestingly he one below is an imagined painting of an Art Demonstration - and the responses of different participants!

• Ninni Heldt  Website: www.ninniheldt.com / Instagram: ninniheldt/ - Her format is unusual (a 70cm circular painting) and her work is extremely distinctive and works well as a series grouped together. She also uses a traditional water golding technique. However I do think her work is overpriced.

• Eleanor Mill Website: melibertine.com/graphic/ Instagram: melibertine Facebook: Melibertine - Her graphite drawings of architecture and ruins is meticulous and handled extremely well in terms of the treatment of values and rendering. 

Two of her four graphite drawings

• Gill Morrow  Website: gillmorrowart.com Facebook: gillmorrowart/ Her porcelain bust - partially glazed with barbed wire - is amazing!

After which I'm afraid screen fatigue set in. So apologies to all those who came later. This is the reality of online exhibitions....

Award winners

You can see the Award winners on this page

Pricing

One thing I did notice while reviewing artworks is that some

 pricing is badly out of kilter for typical wall pricing that sells art at the Mall Galleries. 

I've been writing about pricing and sales by FBA Societies and analysing the prices of works which sold for some months - if not years. I have identified price thresholds (i.e. what NOT to go above), if you want to have a serious chance of selling your work - within the context of experience, expertise and name recognition - plus what price ranges can see artwork selling very quickly.

The message does not for some reason appear to have got through to many of the artists exhibiting in this exhibition. I saw some quite ludicrous prices. 

This to my mind explains why so few artworks have sold to date - despite the exhibition having been online for a month. 

Call for Entries: Society of Women Artists 160th Open Exhibition

This is about the call for entries for the 160th Annual Open Exhibition 2021 of the Society of Women Artists (SWA).

Call for entries for the SWA open annual exhibition online

 

Like a number of other societies, this annual exhibition will be a virtual / online exhibition this year.

The SWA normally exhibit at the Mall Galleries - but given the number of months the Galleries have been closed due to lockdown, the priority for exhibiting art societies in 2021 obviously goes to the Societies which are members of the Federation of British Artists whose home is at the Mall Galleries.

Plus a digital submission means that an artist can submit artwork for exhibition MINUS travelling, transport and the framing costs.

Online Exhibition dates are as follows

• Deadline for all Digital Entries: midnight on 25 June 2021 i.e. you have a month left to submit your entry (Note: I hate midnight timings - I never know whether they mean the beginning or end of the day. "Noon" is much clearer).
• Notification of Selection (ONLINE ONLY): 16th July 2021 
• Online Exhibition Opens: 21st September 2021.
• Exhibition Closes: Sunday 29th September 2021.

I didn't review last year's exhibition as this was also online - and I'm finding reviewing online art much more difficult than exhibitions in galleries. However, you can see the standard of work this exhibition attracts in my Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2019

In this post you can find:

• who is eligible to enter
• what types of artwork are eligible
• how to enter - with key dates
• details of the exhibition
• details of the prizes

but, first, why enter this exhibition? 

Why enter the SWA Annual Exhibition?

The Society of Women Artists have been on an important journey of improvement in recent years. It's one which provides lessons for other art societies.

As I've indicated in past reviews, the quality of the artwork in their exhibitions has improved enormously and there has been a greater involvement by professional women artists.  The change in the quality of the work also gave me the impression that selection had become much more rigorous and being a favoured member/friends was no longer enough to get your work selected.

I think the change has also been in part due to an injection of new and younger blood - with artists keen to "make their mark" and wanting the exhibition to be excellent - and are keen to use websites and social media to promote their art. In turn this is also reflected in a more contemporary "younger" feel to a lot of the artwork - which in turn draws a wider audience to the exhibition and helps improve sales! (It's a lesson which many other art societies might ponder on!)

There's also a keen sense of the exhibition being a place where women artists can exhibit work on themes with meaning to women - which might get overlooked by panels where men make up the majority of the members.

"Parting" by non-member Ayna Paisley
(from the 2020 online exhibition)
Acrylics, Paper Collage h: 70 w: 150 d: 4 (cms)
currently used for the Home Page of the SWA website

Two (financial) benefits are is that 

• submitting digitally to an online exhibition enables artists to submit works for consideration at a reduced cost - without the travelling, transport and the framing costs. 
• ENTRY FEES HAVE BEEN REDUCED for this online exhibition! 

Plus finally - there are PRIZES AND AWARDS! These are the 2021 awards.

• Princess Michael of Kent Award - A signed certificate
• President and Vice Presidents’ Award - A signed certificate
• The Tom Urwin Special Fine Art Award - £1500
• Karin Walker Young Artist Award - 2 x £500
• Derwent Special Fine Art Award
• Young Artist £500 (art materials) Awards
• Established Artist £500 (art materials) Awards
• The Artist Editor’s Choice Award, Feature in The Artist
• The Rosemary and Co Award £100 (brushes)
• Patsy Whiting Award £100
• Jackson’s Award £150 (art materials)

 

Call for Entries for the SWA's Annual Online Exhibition 2021

Find the full details of how to apply and the General terms and Conditions on this page

Below is a summary of that page - with some facts rearranged. 

 

Do not forget that the basic fact is that EVERYTHING is digital - communication, entries, images, and the exhibition. If you're not happy with digital then maybe this is not for you - or you need a friend who can help you.

Who can enter

• The exhibition is INTERNATIONAL i.e. open to artists in the UK, EU, and outside the EU 
  
• There is no stated restriction on who can enter. However, this is an exhibition of work by women artists!
• Women artists under the age of 35 are judged to be young artists and can submit work at a reduced fee.

What you can enter

What follows are the rules of what you can submit and what you need to know before you get on to the 'how to enter' section.

Categories of work which are acceptable:

• Paintings, pastels, drawings;
• Mixed media
• Sculpture, in all media;
• Original unique printing is acceptable e.g. engraving, lithography. Etchings must show their plate indentations. Commercially printed line work or photographically/digitally reproduced work printed with commercial machines (such as giclée work) is NOT admissible.
• Ceramics, glass and metal not of a utilitarian nature. 

This year, there is NO MAXIMUM submission size for paintings and sculpture. All works will be judged by merit. 

All artwork accepted and exhibited online by SWA MUST be 

• for sale, except by prior consent from the SWA. 
• EXCLUSIVE for the duration of the exhibition - which means that the commission is still payable even if it is listed and sold via another platform during the exhibition.

Artwork prices should include the commission of 45% for non members and 40% for members the SWA will be donating 5% of the sale price to the Charity Breast Cancer Now. 

Minimum Sale prices for works (excluding courier costs): 

• £150 for etchings or lithography or drawings
• £200 for 3D works
• £350 for everything else.

Please also note that all retail prices MUST include VAT if applicable and ALL artists liable to VAT are responsible for paying their own tax direct to HMRC. 

All costs of transport to a buyer will be payable by the buyer and accurate costs will need to be quoted to a buyer before a sale is concluded. So you need to know what the cost of packing and shipping is before you enter - or ASAP after you get selected.
[Note it does not say this in the Call for Entries - but this is how it needs to work if transactions are to be compliant with all relevant regulations for trade and ecommerce]

ARTISTS LIVING OUTSIDE THE UK PLEASE NOTE. 

• All artists without a UK residence are classified as Non-Established Taxable Persons (NETPs) and must register with HMRC (HM Revenue + Customs) for a UK VAT number before they can exhibit artworks in our Online Exhibition. 
• A valid UK VAT number is prefaced with the letters “GB”. VAT numbers relating to other countries are not valid for the purposes of this exhibition.
• You must provide the SWA with your UK VAT number before 1st September 2021. If you do not, your selected artwork(s) cannot be displayed online in the exhibition.
• see General Terms and Conditions for more details
  

How to enter

Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2019

This week has seen the 158th Annual Exhibition of the The Society of Women Artists' at the Mall Galleries. It's

• an international exhibition with artwork being produced by women artists from the UK and abroad
• comprises 459 artworks - paintings and drawings in all media, fine art prints and ceramics, sculpture & other 3D works - and continues until 1pm on 29th September 2018.

A view of the exhibition.

It seems to be a well attended show - it was certainly busy with visitors when I was there yesterday afternoon. I always judge a show by how difficult it is to find a seat to have a cup of tea - it's an infallible marker of how popular a show is!

First - an apology. This review should have been published earlier. However I've been fighting a bug for most of the week (or possibly my reaction to a recent flu jab). Coupled with having to hand hold my partner through the demise of his phone.  He doesn't do techie stuff so I am the tech. translator / shopping companion and adviser / options appraisal assessor / counsellor / setter upper / trainer etc. while we got that sorted!  Anyway, late it most certainly is - but it's now done!

Feel free to comment on Facebook about any typos or omissions as I've been very slow writing this as still feeling "under par"

View of the Main Gallery yesterday from the steps

Below you can:

• view photos of the 2019 exhibition
• read about what I thought about this exhibition
• take a look at the artwork which won prizes - which are not insignificant - and find out who made it.

I also uploaded a folder of my photographs of the exhibition titled Society of Women Artists: 2019 Annual Exhibition of the exhibition to Facebook last night - which are accessible to all - as I realised the bug was back and this post was not going to be published quickly.

On the SWA website you can also find

• the list of the Selected Artists
• the list of Award Winners 

Conclusions about the exhibition

This is an exhibition which continues to improve includes examples of types of artwork I've never seen before. Indeed this exhibition has a wider variety of media than any other exhibition which shows at the Mall Galleries.

I gather this year the SWA has gone for a 50:50 ratio for members:non-members artwork - which is brave. However to me it seems to have paid off in spades.

Call for Entries: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2019

The Society of Women Artists (SWA) published its brand new website today - just prior to the start of the digital submissions to its 2019 Annual Exhibition

The website is a huge improvement and continues the upward trajectory of the SWA's performance in recent years.  The History section in particular has been well researched and is very interesting.

The society holds various exhibitions throughout the year, culminating in the annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. The exhibition consists of works by members and non-members, which are selected by a panel from an open call for entries.

The 158th Open Annual Exhibition will this year be held in the Main and North Galleries of the Mall galleries.

Last year there were 448 artworks - paintings and drawings in all media, fine art prints and ceramics, sculpture & 3D works - across all three galleries - so I'd expect fewer works hung this year.

Dates are as follows

• Preview Evening: 24th September (by invitation)
• Exhibition Opens: Tuesday 24th Sep at 4.00 
• Private View: 25th September, 10am to 8pm - the 158th Exhibition will be officially opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent on Wednesday, 25th September at 11am.  
• Exhibition Closes: Sunday 29th September 
• Hours: 10am to 5pm daily, closing at 1.00 on Sunday 29th September

Entry is digital and the Deadline for Online Entries for the 2019 Annual Open Exhibition of the Society of Women Artists is Noon on 20th June 2019.

A total of 15 prizes will be awarded at the 2019 Exhibition - and some involve some generous sponsorship (see below)

In this post you can find:

• who is eligible to enter
• what types of artwork are eligible
• how to enter - with key dates
• details of the exhibition
• details of the prizes

Review: Society of Women Artists Annual Exhibition 2018

The Society of Women Artists' 157th annual exhibition of 448 artworks - paintings and drawings in all media, fine art prints and ceramics, sculpture & 3D works - opened to the public yesterday in all three galleries of the Mall Galleries and continues until 1pm on 30 September 2018.

The end wall of the Main Gallery

This is an international exhibition with artwork being produced by women artists from the UK and abroad.

President Soraya French (fourth from left) with her fellow exhibition curators and organisers and curators

It's always most rewarding to see a national art society improve the quality of its annual exhibition over time - and the exhibition has improved yet again.

To my mind, this annual exhibition can now hold its own with the annual exhibitions of the FBA societies whose home is at the Mall Galleries.

Indeed the SWA was once a member of the FBA - before it withdrew - and I'm wondering whether this re-invigorated art society might find it worthwhile to review whether it makes sense to apply to be a member again. (I've recommended some number-crunching and weighing up of pros and cons! For the history of the society see the end of this blog post)

Below you can:

• view photos of the 2018 exhibition 
• read who won which prizes - which are not insignificant - and see the related artwork 
• read about what I thought of the exhibition

View of the north wall of the Main Gallery

You can also view

• the list of selected artists (pdf file)
• examples of exhibited work by members in an online gallery on the SWA website
• examples of exhibited work by non-members can also be seen on the SWA website

The new SWA President Soraya French attributes the improvement of the quality of work on display in no small part to the practice introduced by the previous President Sue Jelley of SELECTING ALL THE ARTWORK ON DISPLAY - including that by members This means that members must raise their game to stand a chance of selection against an increasingly robust open entry. To me this makes for a robust and sustainable art society in the long term as the open entry is the future life blood of an art society and without regular injections of new blood, an art society is at risk of its members becoming complacent - as has been seen elsewhere in the past.
(See also my comments on this topic in my review of the 2016 exhibition.)

Exhibition Metrics

There are 449 artworks in the exhibition. 

The ratio of artwork by members and non-members selected for the exhibition is 50:50

This is admirable and reflects the description of the annual exhibition as being an "open exhibition".

Members artworks

• Just under 300 works were submitted for selection by members 
• 225 works (75%) were selected

Open Entry

• 1656 entries were received via the open entry from non-members
• 427 artworks by non members works went to the final selection panel
• 224 artworks were selected for the exhibition.

Prizes and Awards