After a recent call for submissions to our annual Summer Exhibition, we've been inundated with entries from artists across the Sandwell Borough.

Around 120 local artists with a connection to the region submitted close to 300 pieces of artwork to be considered for our third Summer Exhibition, double the amount of entries than last year!

Over 170 pieces of work have been selected for display by the panel of judges, including artwork from a selection of different types of media including photography, oil paintings, watercolour, charcoal drawing and 3D work.

In 2012 submissions followed the themes of portraits, action and places, with entries including a 3D model village by Sense Day Service, a deafblind charity based in Smethwick, a watercolour painting of Black Heath’s World Kick Boxing Champion, Simon ‘Mr KO’ Akufo, by Chandrika Sehdev, and an acrylic painting of former West Bromwich Albion manager and current England coach, Roy Hodgson, by Les Bennett.

The artwork displayed in the exhibition was selected by a panel of judges from across the region, including representatives from The Public’s exhibition team, Mark Wilbrey from the Smethwick Photographic Society, members of the Black Country Bench Knitting Group and apprentices from LearnPlay Foundation.

The Summer Exhibition has been co-ordinated by Innate Projects, an arts organisation formed by former Intern at The Public, Gemma Hadley.

Linda Saunders, Managing Director of The Public said,

“This year we have been overwhelmed by the number of fantastic entries received for our third Summer Exhibition, which is a great testament to the creative talent which resides in the region. The annual exhibition aims to actively encourage creativity within the local community by nurturing talent and providing residents the opportunity to showcase their work to a mass audience.”

All artwork selected for the exhibition will be displayed for free from Wednesday 18 July to Sunday 9 September 2012 and is free to visit.

Image: 'Roy Hodgson, Job Done!' by Les Bennett