UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2010 - Thanks to......

Today is the last day of the 9th Annual Exhibition at Stamford and it's customary at this stage to thank everybody who participated.  The photos included in this post are of people who helped with the exhibition.

I can't do better than start in exactly the same way as last year.

Thanks to the artists!

First and foremost, thanks are due of course to everyone who entered a picture for the Exhibition - both UKCPS members and non-members. It goes without saying that there is no annual exhibition without all of you!

Thanks to the UKCPS Exhibition Team

As always Pat Heffer UKCPS Exhibition Director is very committed to making the Annual Exhibition a success and is responsible for the Exhibition as a whole from notifications to members to making sure that all the pictures get back to the right people.   It's a huge job and one which is ably supported by a very large group of members (and some of their "significant others") at various stages!

Pat Heffer, Exhibition Director

A key person this year was Judith Waugh who was the local contact for this exhibition in Stamford.

This year Pat organised the Exhibition and the 'hang' despite the very significant handicap of having recently had an accident which left her with a broken wrist and ribs.  This meant routine communication via keyboard and lifting and holding pictures were not adviseable this year.  However a way round was found!

The happy team of helpers at the exhibition were invaluable in making sure that all the pictures were unwrapped, equipped with mirror plates and hung before the Private View in the evening.

The great unwrapping:  This is what the unwrapping looks like for those who have not seen it before - it makes for quite a pile!  All this will be brought back to Stamford today and matched up with any pictures which remain unsold so that they  can all be returned to their artists.

After the pictures have been unpacked!

Equipped to hang:  After the unpacking comes the check to make sure a mirror plate had been fixed.  As this was a new requirement this year Derek Waugh (Judith's husband), Malcolm Cudmore and Pauline's partner Paul were kept very busy fitting and refitting mirror plates for those that arrived without using a lot of muscle and, in some cases, ingenuity to get every picture ready to hang.

Pauline Longley watching the fixing of the mirror plates

Designing the Exhibition:  Pat used the tried and tested method of grouping the exhibits in loose categories and laying out exhibits on the floor to get a pleasing balance and mix of styles. This year  Pauline Longley and Beverley Courtney kindly moved the pictures around until Pat, severely hampered by her broken wrist and ribs, was satisfied.

Hanging on the floor - BEFORE

The "Hang":  Next comes getting the pictures off the wall and onto the wall.  Two "three man" teams of hangers went to work (apologies as I don't have your names) to get the approved format of pics onto the wall.  As a bit of competition crept in, they made short work of the hanging.  The result was an exhibition hung in good time and a very pleasing display with each picture having the chance to speak for itself alongside other entries.

Hanging on the very same wall AFTER

Part of the UKCPS Annual Exhibition 2010

Once the exhibition is up the online team take over the hang on the website and blog! UKCPS webmaster Liz Ridley worked really fast to produce the online exhibition on the UKCPS website and to get all the pictures up on the website in the correct place against each award.

The picture juggling issue is always a major logistical effort since we never know who's won what until the Private View and it's impossible to create web pages or draft blog posts in advance.  Speaking personally, I'm extremely grateful to Liz for the extra work she did this year getting all the images formatted and sized right for loading onto the Internet on both the website and blog.

It should be noted this is one area where UKCPS is still in advance of most national art societies in terms of letting people see the work exhibited in the show online at the same time as the exhibition is on display.

The Private View in the evening was well organised and well attended - see UKPCS Annual Exhibition 2010: Private View

Thanks to the Demonstrators

After the Hang and the Private View comes the demonstrations by members of UKCPS.  See Demonstrators at the UKCPS Annual Exhibition for names.  Demonstrations were run virtually throughout the exhibition which is a major achievement.  They showed interested members of the public some of the techniques that resulted in such an amazing and diverse range of works had been created.

Day 1: Jo Goudie and Suzie Herbert demonstating, Malcolm Cudmore is behind his easel!

If you fancy demonstrating in November, the UKCPS will be Art Materials Live at the NEC and volunteers are welcome - see TP for details.

The Society extends its grateful thanks to all those member volunteers that helped so cheerfully.

Thanks also to....

The people without whom UKCPS could not have an Annual Exhibition at the Stamford Arts Centre or given awards to the top artwork this year.

• The UKCPS 2010 Sponsors - Caran d'Ache - makers of Pablo, Luminance 6901, Museum and Supracolor pencils - who help UKCPS to exhibit at the Stanford Arts Centre.
• the three jurors who independently reviewed and rated all the entries to the competition. 
• all those sponsoring and providing awards - Caran d'Ache (see Winner of Best in Show 2010 is... ), Derwent, Faber-Castell, Lyra, Staedtler, Ann James Massey SWA, KA, CPSA, UKCPS (Presidents Award), ex Chairman Peter Weatherill UKCPS (Best Landscape) and Harper Collins (Ann Swan Botanical Award) - see 9th Annual Open International Exhibition: Other Prizewinners

Reminder:  Don't forget the UKCPS AGM starts today at 5pm at the Stamford Arts Centre

Stamford Arts Centre