In case you missed it, earlier this week we launched a competition to find local artists for the fourth instalment of the Creative Croydon outdoor exhibition. Partnering with Croydon BID and our alter ego (er, proper job) 31% Wool, the art exhibition will adorn lampposts across the centre of Croydon later this year.
If you are an artist living, working or studying in Croydon and would like the chance to publicly exhibit your work, sharing your art with thousands of people in the heart of the town centre this competition is for you.
Read on to get inspired, see past exhibitors and find out about this year’s panel of judges, as well as the all important info on how to enter. Oh and did we mention the competition winners will each receive a £750 commission to exhibit their work?
Creative Croydon launched in 2022 with artists Kate Marsden, Gavin Kinch, Tina Crawford, Lis Watkins, and Bev Jones exhibiting striking depictions of Croydon’s buildings and spaces.
In 2023, the exhibition highlighted the borough’s diverse creative talent with works by Divya Sharma, Matt Bannister, Skye Baker, Miguel Sopena, and Melanie Russell.
Last year we set the first competition to find our Creative Croydon artists with a call-out for local young creatives aged 16–25 to enter their work around the theme of happiness. Art from the five winners – Autumn Ng Fong Tiao, Iulia Taropa, Beatrix Finch, Erika Gomez, and Thomas Oldfield – can still be seen around the town centre for the next few weeks.
This year’s competition has the most open brief yet. Croydon artists (over 16) are invited to submit three pieces of artwork of their choice – whether existing pieces or newly created for the occasion. This year there is no theme as such, other than feeling vibrant to brighten our town centre’s streets as we move into Autumn.
Artist and 2025 judge, Beatrix Finch says of the exhibition,
“I love that local artists’ work is shown in the town centre every year, not just in galleries behind closed doors. I remember how exciting it was the first time I walked through Croydon when my banners were up, and I’m really excited to help choose the next artists who will share that same joyful experience.”
Croydon BID CEO Matthew Sims, adds,
“I’ve always been inspired by the depth of creative talent in Croydon. Through the Creative Croydon series, we’re proud to offer local artists a platform to share their work with the wider community, transforming our town centre into an open-air gallery using on-street lamppost banners. This is a celebration of Croydon’s vibrant arts scene and the talented individuals who bring it to life.”
Our 2025 judges
Beatrix Finch: exhibited in Creative Croydon 2024
Beatrix is a young creative exploring digital nativity and ways of being. As a neurodivergent and disabled person, they are creatively exploring a world that sees them as secondary to other people, and their journey starts here in their hometown Croydon.
Thomas Oldfield: exhibited in Creative Croydon 2024
Thomas is an illustrator, sculptor and traditional printmaker, born and raised in Croydon. Having taken an interest in creative work at a young age, he has always been inspired by the creatives of our local area. He loves the wide variety of Croydon’s local artists, from painters and writers to performers and musicians, and believes we should do all we can to elevate the diversity of our creative community.
Melanie Russell: exhibited in Creative Croydon 2023
Melanie creates paintings and drawings which capture fleeting moments of botanical beauty in loose lines that are full of energy. Her works are playful and experimental as well as quiet and sensitive, dancing between representation and abstraction.
She has a studio with ASC Studios in the Grafton Quarter where she has been based for 5 years. She has exhibited widely across the UK and regularly hosts creative workshops.
Divya Sharma: exhibited in Creative Croydon 2023
Divya is a London based textile artist and a Royal College of Art alumni, originally from India. Divya uses tufting as a vehicle of ideas by weaving myths and stories of her heritage and ancestors into her tapestries. She is questioning, ascribing value and trying to understand where she stands in this hierarchy of social order, whether it is in the art canon or in the larger society in general.
Lis Watkins: exhibited in Creative Croydon 2022
Lis is an artist based in Croydon. She specialises in drawing on location and delivering urban sketching workshops, with her work taking her across the UK and Europe. She has been nominated twice for the International Prize at the ‘Rendez-vous International du Carnet de Voyage’ festival in Clermont-Ferrand, France and exhibited a series of drawings from Ruskin Square at the ‘Comic Salon’ festival in Germany in 2024.
Details on entering
What to enter:
Three pieces of art (in any static media). These could be pieces of art you have already created, or pieces you create specifically for the competition. The art does not need to directly link to Croydon, and there is no specific theme other than feeling vibrant to brighten our town centre’s streets as we move into Autumn.
Deadline:
Friday 19 September, 5pm
Format:
The pieces of art will need to be supplied or cropped to portrait format (see full entry details)
The selection process:
All entries will be judged by a panel of artists (who have shown work in previous Creative Croydon exhibitions). Three artists will be chosen for this year’s exhibition.
The successful entrants:
The three chosen artists will each receive a £750 commission for their work to be exhibited across Croydon’s lamppost banners.
How to enter:
Read full details, download a template and fill out the entry form on the 31% Wool website here.
We wish all entrants the best of luck and can’t wait to see this year’s creative talent.
In situ exhibition photography by Glenn Foster, courtesy of Croydon BID. Lis Watkins portrait by Charlotte Gray.
Posted by Julia
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