THE Morningside Gallery in Edinburgh won the award for Curatorial Excellence at theAffordable Art Fair in Battersea, London over the weekend.
It was one of over 100 contemporary galleries exhibiting parts of their curated collection, which an event director said “stood out beautifully” from all the others.
In a post to social media celebrating the award, staff of the gallery described the honour as “very unexpected but most welcome” and invited anybody in London to stop by and appreciate their collection.
They exhibited works from artists such asHedi Munro, Peter Munro, Allan MacDonald,Stephen Mangan, Jennifer Irvine, and recent university graduate Ella Williams.
The Affordable Art Fair is an art fair which hosts fairs all over the globe from Battersea to Berlin, and Boston to Singapore.
In the UK, there are three instalments – a yearly fair in Hampstead, London, and an autumn and spring fair in Battersea.
The Morningside Gallery managed to win out over 113 other contemporary galleries from all over the globe to win the auspicious award.
It was the gallery’s first time exhibiting at Battersea, and staff say that the award took them by surprise, but judges were enamoured by the curated collection on display from Morningside.
Eileadh Swan, director of the Morningside Gallery, was delighted and surprised to win the award but did not expect it to make or break her business.
Speaking today, she said: “It’s the first time we’ve gone down to Battersea, and we thought we’d make a bit of an effort.
“We decided to choose a large stand, painted it a bold colour, and spent quite a bit of time curating it and planning it out.
“Every year they award somebody the curational excellence award, and this year they decided to give it to us, which was very nice.
“It generated a lot of interest, and people were asking about it and generally being very appreciative, and positive about how we laid out our stand.”
On the exhibition itself, Eileadh said: “We had some large-scale paintings.
“In particular, Hedi Munro, who has these really big gold leaf pieces on painted panels with botanical themes and Japanese themes.”
“They were a real eye-catching feature of the art fair.”
On the impact the award will have on the gallery, she added: “I think it seems to have generated some interest on social media.
“You know, people withing us well and nice comments. I’m not sure it’ll make or break our business, though.
“It’s nice to have been recognised as having put some effort into our stand.”
Visitors to the art fair could be treated, at the Morningside gallery’s exhibition, to Hedi Munro’s stunning, intricate goldleaf paintings, the arresting drama and shadowy definition provided by painter Stephen Mangan, and the striking melancholy of Stuart Buchanan’s work.
The Morningside Gallery has been open since 2003 and claims to offer a “welcoming” gallery space for art buyers and an “excellent and professional service at all levels”.
The gallery curates and displays art for art collectors and buyers, who are attracted to the quality and variety on display in the Morningside space.
The award for curatorial excellence is the only award handed out by the Battersea Affordable Art Exhibition.
The cap for valuation of artworks exhibited at the exhibition is £10,000, hence the name “affordable art fair”.
Their exhibition has now been transported back to Edinburgh, where it is open for the public and potential buyers to view.
That is, aside from the pieces sold at the event, including all of Hedi Munro’s large paintings.
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