Black Swan Arts Young Open 2023
Long Gallery

We are delighted to welcome back our Young Art Open.

We are exhibiting over 150 original works of art. Each one has been produced by a young person between the ages of 5 and 19 years.

The Black Swan Arts Young Open competition has grown to become the largest open-entry art event for young people in the South West.

Every year we are always impressed by the levels of excellence achieved by so many young artists, and 2023 is no exception. This year means so much to us because the last exhibition was due to open on the very first day of lockdown in 2020. One year later we carefully hosted a small number of household bubble visits, but the show was never able to open fully to the public.

But it’s not just the artists themselves that we have to thank for this exhibition but also many parents, teachers and youth leaders for their support, encouragement and, very often, cash for the entry fee!

Black Swan Arts is a charity with no external sources of funding – no grants, no sponsorship, no public money. We are, therefore, very grateful for the support we have received this year from Postscript, the River House and artists Jo Joof & Chris Pig for providing workshops and prizes. Thanks to our brilliant judges, Nick Fraser, Frank Goffey & Amy Yates who had the difficult task of selecting the artwork from over three hundred entries from across the region. This show is genuinely a highlight of the year for our incredible Volunteers and Trustees, who are so very proud to celebrate the talent and creativity of young people. Without their help over the years this event simply could not take place – many hundreds of young people would be denied the opportunity to see their outstanding artwork displayed in a major public gallery.

To revisit the competition site, to view your entry, or to view our full competition details, terms and guidelines.