Cherise Hewett and her picture Ayaba were awarded the winners’ prize at last night’s (19 July) ceremony marking the end of the 2021 Brixton Blog and Bugle art show in Brixton library.
Cherise, a part-time Apple technician from Camberwell, created Ayaba using an iPad and the app Procreate.
It was an early success for the artist who said that things happen for her when she is working at her art.
The award – a 3D-printed bugle created by the model-making department at Brixton-based architects Squire and Partners – was presented by partner Tim Gledstone.
Another prize – £250 pounds’ worth of framing from Brockwell Art Services in Herne Hill – was donated by proprietor Jimmy Davidson.
Hundreds of people who visited the exhibition had voted for Ayaba and other works – making Cherise a true people’s champion.
A final selection for the exhibition of 58 works by 39 artists was chosen from twice this number by a committee.
The exhibition was also a success for Kate Burnett, who made her first-ever sale at the show with Quiet Turbulence, painted last winter during lockdown. Ten per cent of all sales go to the library.
Leslie Manasseh, arts editor of the Brixton Blog and Bugle, who organised the exhibition, paid tribute to library staff who, despite the problems created by lockdown and uncertainty about regulations and their timing, had worked hard to make the exhibition a success.
The library’s Rosella Black read a moving tribute written in the exhibition’s visitors book by a seven-year-old.
The exhibition also marked the passing of Linda Quinn, editor of the Blog and Bugle since 2015, and Colin Failes, a professional artist, whose contribution was invaluable in getting the exhibition, now in its third year, off the ground. Both Linda and Colin died earlier this year.
