The shortlist for Stonewater’s second Blunden Prize has been announced. 
More than 50 entries were received from artists across the country in response to the public art prize competition, which is offering a chance to create a piece of art or sculpture to be displayed at Stonewater’s Calverley Lane scheme in Horsforth, Leeds.
The leading affordable housing provider relaunched the competition in late 2022, following the success of its inaugural Blunden Prize and to commemorate over a decade of Stonewater showcasing public art across its social housing developments and community open spaces.
The shortlist of eight talented artists were decided in the first round of judging by a group of residents at Stonewater’s Copley Mill House retirement living scheme in Halifax.
Residents reviewed the entries against the brief provided by Stonewater, which asked artists to consider the environmental impact of their designs and how they would reduce the carbon footprint of their proposed work, as well as taking into account the location and history of the site.
The winning design will be showcased at the entrance point of Calverley Lane scheme, an affordable home development providing over 150 homes on the former Leeds City College campus.
Chief Growth and Development Officer at Stonewater, Jonathan Layzell, said: “We’re excited to announce the shortlist of amazing artists from across the UK chosen to go forward to the next stage of the Blunden Prize. A big thank you to our retirement living residents for taking the time to review the high number of entries; it’s important to us to involve our residents wherever we can in this great project.
“All of the artists that entered had fantastic ideas about how to create striking and engaging artworks while considering the impact on the environment and local community. We are now very much looking forward to the next round of judging and seeing who is chosen to create our focal point of public art for Calverley Lane.”
The final shortlist consists of eight artists — David R Lloyd, Enya Lachman-Curl, Ian Campbell-Briggs, Louise Hare, Patrick Walls, Rafael Klein, Robert Turner and Teresa Wells.
The shortlisted artists will be invited to present their proposal to a further panel of judges, which will be announced shortly.
Header image: Jonathan Layzell visiting Stonewater’s Ben Jacobs Court in Yeovil, at the unveiling of public art by artist Simon Ridley.
