Coventry Open 2025
Available During Opening Hours | Friday 28 March - Sunday 8 June 2025
Show all dates and times
28 March 10.00am – 8 June 4.00pm 2025
Coventry Open 2025: A showcase of work by West Midlands artists.
Drop In | Included With Admission (From 1 April 2025)
We are thrilled to announce the 13th Coventry Open exhibition! This prestigious event aims to showcase the quality and diversity of art being produced in Coventry and the wider West Midlands region, providing valuable selling opportunities for artists.
Building on the success of the last exhibition, we’re excited to see the return of the Young Artists category introduced in 2023, allowing artists aged 15-18 the chance to exhibit their work.
Visual artists working in any medium were invited to submit images and supporting information about their work via our online submissions portal. A £1,000 prize was awarded to one winning entry chosen by an independent judging panel, alongside an additional prize for the Young Artists category winner.
The Coventry Open 2025 attracted more than 1,000 submissions and features 140 artworks across a wide range of media – from painting and photography to textiles, ceramics, video and installation art. The exhibition promises something for everyone, featuring an eclectic mix of artworks that will appeal to visitors of all ages.
This year’s main prize was awarded to Coventry-based photographer Alan Van Wijgerden for his audio-visual piece Sent to Coventry Again.
Alan, who lives in Spon End, said: “All artists ultimately want to share their work and this competition has provided a great opportunity to do that."
“My submission has really been developed over a very long time in the city I have spent most of my life. I’m really pleased, and shocked, to have won – and it’s quite strange to think that people visiting the Herbert will be seeing my work.”
The film draws from Alan’s extraordinary archive of hundreds of thousands of photographs taken over four decades, weaving together stories of the city’s recent history. A key theme of the work is the ever-changing skyline of Coventry, reflecting the city's evolution and resilience over time.
Image: Garry Jones
A People’s Choice Award, valued at £500, will be announced at the close of the exhibition in June. Visitors are invited to vote for their favourite artwork during their visit to the gallery.
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Judging Panel:
JEMIMA GRAHAM
Jemima Graham, director of Glue Collective and programme coordinator at Stryx Gallery, has over 20 years' experience enriching Birmingham’s cultural landscape through intergenerational events and dynamic public programmes. Her work in place-making and exhibitions, both indoor and outdoor, embodies her dedication to inclusive art, connecting human and ecological elements through play and empowerment themes.
Graham’s contributions to the production of events like Birmingham Weekender and grassroots festivals highlight her dedication to creating impactful, inclusive art experiences. Her expertise extends to consulting in place-making, focusing on designing spaces that nurture connections between human, non-human and more-than-human ecologies through play.
Graham continues to develop her practice through exhibitions and projects in galleries and outdoor settings. Her work has featured in exhibitions at the Herbert, Centrala, Stryx Gallery, Ikon Gallery and Birmingham City University - where she's currently an artist in residence.
Inspired by the quantum entanglement of all things, her work explores themes of empowerment and connection - both human and environmental. Her installations and visual arts celebrate and embrace play as a transformative force and invite audiences to connect with the rhythms of the earth and one another.
JASON WILSHER-MILLS
Jason Wilsher-Mills, a disabled artist from West Yorkshire, creates large, psychedelic sculptures celebrating 1970s working-class popular culture and highlighting disability issues.
Wilsher-Mills was born in Wakefield in 1969. He grew up on council estates and is the youngest of eight children. He was a very active child but fell ill with chicken pox when he was 11 years old. The virus attacked his central nervous system, causing paralysis from the neck down and requiring the use of a wheelchair. He needed 24-hour care and had to spend one year in hospital.
Through his large, psychedelic sculptures, Wilsher-Mills celebrates the working-class popular culture of the 1970s, littering his work with references to British children’s comics and popular TV shows of the time, while also highlighting issues relating to disability.
When asked what his work is about: "Think ‘I, Daniel Blake’ meets ‘The Beano’”.
Wilsher-Mills was commissioned by the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and exhibited at Qatar and the Houses of Parliament among other international venues. He was awarded the Adam Reynolds Award in 2020. In 2024 he exhibited at the Wellcome Collection in London, the Venice Biennale and Ferens Art Gallery in Hull.
Image: Benjamin Gilbert CC-BYNC
DR CARA COURAGE
Dr Cara Courage is an art and placemaking specialist who brings communities and artists together to transform spaces and places through creative collaboration and cultural engagement. She has dedicated her career to championing the transformative power of art in communities, working alongside artists and residents to create meaningful change through cultural participation.
From leading innovative programmes at artist studios, museums and universities, to working with artist collectives and grassroots groups, she brings deep expertise in socially engaged creative practice. Courage’s work spans contemporary visual arts, public art and community-led cultural initiatives, always prioritising local voices and artistic excellence.
As both practitioner and advisor, she has shaped creative projects across the UK's urban and rural landscapes, from high street regeneration through arts engagement to pioneering new approaches for cultural institutions. Her hands-on experience includes directing award-winning social innovation programmes and fostering creative partnerships that bring artists and communities together in authentic collaboration.
Through extensive work with cultural organisations of all sizes, Courage demonstrates an unwavering commitment to art's vital role in shaping vibrant, connected communities.
UnT1tL3d
UnT1tL3d is a multi-disciplinary artist who encodes deeply personal life experiences into her art, emphasising personal storytelling over imitation. Her UnT1tL3d persona serves to separate the artist from her creations, enabling her to explore complex themes with a degree of personal detachment.
UnT1tL3d’s work resists the need for overt interpretation, focusing instead on deeply personal life experiences encrypted into her art. She works across various mediums, including sculpture, charcoal and ink drawings, and digital media. Her creative approach is inspired by the techniques and colour palettes of artists such as Alex Ross, Robert Rauschenberg, Shepard Fairey and Banksy.
The persona of ‘UnT1tL3d’ serves as a deliberate separation between the artist and her creations, allowing her to explore and narrate her stories without having to directly relive them.