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On the 5th August the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) will be presenting the region's premier Open Painting Exhibition. The new programme at the Royal West of England Academy begins with one of the most high profile exhibitions of contemporary paintings outside of London. In fact, it is the first open painting exhibition of this scale to be held in the South West region.

Since the 19th Century and the Newlyn School, the South West has been a region of strong artistic identity. This long standing tradition gained impetus post-war, with the establishment of a new generation of painters including Patrick Heron, Peter Lanyon, William Scott, Terry Frost, and Roger Hilton - a group of artists who exerted influence worldwide. Such high artistic profile has remained focused in the South West with such recognised venues as the RWA and Arnolfini (Bristol) The National Museum and Gallery of Wales (Cardiff) and The Tate (St Ives).

Painting, it can be argued, is enjoying a renaissance in contemporary British art. Recent darlings of this medium include Martin Maloney. With his naïve style portraits of everyday living, he enjoys the exaggerated qualities of the painted line and the brash immediacy of the paint. We can also see an inclination towards the traditional style in the work of Jenny Saville in her nude studies of women, where she uses traditional methods and imagery to subvert the traditional representation of women. Abstract art is still very much alive and kicking as painters such as Albert Irvin prove.

As once digital imagery threatened to storm the art world many critics declared that in this Post-modern era "Painting is Dead". True to the tradition of liberal artists, this condemnation was heard as a rebel charge.

As desktop publishing makes digital artwork far more accessible and obtainable, more and more people are in contrast finding the element of hand-made work far more appealing. In fact some of the most interesting contemporary art forms are a culmination of these two facets.

Painting is re-establishing itself as a dynamic and contemporary medium. The First RWA Open Painting Exhibition will very much prove this and place the RWA on the Modern Art Map as a significant venue outside of London and a centre of artistic excellence.

THE SELECTION PANEL
Mike Tooby - Director, National Museum and Gallery, Cardiff and founder curator of the Tate, St Ives
Caroline Collier - Director, Arnolfini
Jill George - Director, Jill George Gallery, London
Christopher Cook- Reader in Painting at University of Plymouth and Artist in Residence at the Eden Project
David Inshaw - South West based painter, tutor and RWA Academician
Stuart Geddes - London based painter, tutor and RWA Academician
Alfred Stockham - South West based painter and RWA Academician

EXHIBITION OPENING
The exhibition will be opened by the renowned painter Sir Terry Frost at the Private View on Saturday 4th August (2pm - 6pm) to which all members of the press are invited.

PRIZES AND AWARDS
There will be £16,500 worth of prize money on offer:
£8.000 supported by the Odin Charitable Trust
£4,000 RWA Purchase Prize
2 awards of £1,000 worth of artists' materials and framing
£1,500 (Under 30's prize) supported by the Friends of the RWA
£1,000 supported by Mary Fedden, Past President of the RWA