W. Gordon Smith Award

W. Gordon Smith Award, Dovecot Galleries

I was very pleased to have had my work ‘Through October’ accepted for this inaugural Exhibition celebrating the life of W. Gordon Smith, Scotland on Sunday’s art and theatre critic and columnist for many years. W. Gordon Smith generously wrote about my early work several times in his columns and so it is of particular pleasure to me that I should have had a work selected for inclusion in this show. It really is an excellent exhibition and while not everything is to my taste, the quality of the work throughout is very high.

An exhibition of successful entries to the W. Gordon Smith Award Competition in association with Scotland on Sunday with prize money totalling £15k, celebrates the life of the distinguished art critic, author, dramatist and film-maker.

W. Gordon Smith’s understanding of how different art forms including poetry, painting, music, theatre and film are interconnected gave his critical writing a special insight and authority. His work as a dramatist proved equally successful with plays such as Jock, Knox and Vincent becoming part of the canon of contemporary Scottish theatre. A pioneer of televised arts programmes in Scotland, his series of films (Scope and Spectrum) for BBC Scotland throughout the late 1960s and 1970s are perhaps his greatest legacy. They now constitute a unique archive of cultural production in 20th century Scotland to be used and enjoyed by future generations.

The progress made by the arts in Scotland over the past 50 years is unmistakeable as is W. Gordon Smith’s contribution. Throughout his life he worked selflessly and tirelessly on behalf of art and artists. This new Competition offers a wonderful opportunity, for all artists, to both celebrate and continue his lifetime’s work.

Entries were invited from artists working in Scotland and Scottish artists working throughout the UK and abroad. Works sold throughout the exhibition are not liable to any commission.

Dovecot Studios Ltd.
10 Infirmary Street
Edinburgh EH1 1LT

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