Thank you for visiting our very first virtual exhibition.

A special thank you to Sir Philip Pullman for ‘opening’ the exhibition with his announcement of his choice of the prizewinners of the Young Artist Competition.

It is down to the energy, efficiency and expertise of Lin Kerr and Harriet Eagle, and the adaptability of all those involved, that OAS was able to deliver our 2020 Open Exhibition and annual Young Artist Competition showcasing the very best local talent online in spite of the many difficulties this year has presented.

Despite the absence of a physical presence, the superb virtual display of exemplary work resulted in many, often repeated, viewings and sales, encouraged in large part by Lin’s dedicated promotion of the show with great professionalism on social media.

Our congratulations to the three winners of the Young Artist Competition, chosen by Sir Philip Pullman who shared his thoughts with great eloquence on our website and thanks to our sponsors: The Lucy Group and Oxford entrepreneur Jeremy Mogford. 

Our congratulations also to the three winners chosen for special recognition by this year’s guest judge Esther Lafferty from the huge number of selected entries in the Open Exhibition.

We decided to hang a selection of the Young Artist’s entries to provide a sense of scale to aid with Sir Philip’s selection.

The online exhibition took the form of a superbly formatted and interactive catalogue which was viewed many times. Harriet Eagle said ‘There were many lovely comments about the exhibition and numerous requests and interest about becoming a member, so all in all, the pandemic opened up fabulous and future possibilities for the OAS’ 

A SNAPSHOT OF THE EXHIBITION

We confidently look forward to welcoming you to our 2021 Members’ Exhibition in the spring which will take place here again online and, we hope, in person.

With very best wishes,

Lucy Stopford, Chairman