Artists, writers and photographers are invited to interpret the new theme of ‘Living Working Ridgeway’ in the Swire Ridgeway Arts Prize 2027.

For thousands of years people have shaped the landscapes of the Ridgeway along the chalk escarpments between Wiltshire and Buckinghamshire.

They made hill-forts during the Iron Age, carved chalk figures such as Whiteleaf Cross near Princes Risborough and the White Horse at Uffington, farmed the downland slopes and vales and planted trees to make furniture.

The theme ‘Living Working Ridgeway’ can include farmers, racehorse trainers, artisans and crafts-people living and working here today, as well as anything that lives in the natural environment of the Ridgeway landscape.

There are four categories in the Swire Ridgeway Arts Prize: Wall Art includes painting, drawing, etching, textile pictures, wall hangings, and mosaics in any medium. Photography in black and white, and colour. Sculpture in ceramic, wire, wood and glass. Written work in poetry and prose.

All entries will be exhibited on 24 and 25 April 2027 in the Thomas Hughes Memorial Hall in Uffington, Oxfordshire. The Swire Ridgeway Arts Prizes will be awarded on Sunday 25 April. 

The competition is open to all, including professional and amateur artists. Art work submitted must be produced in the 24 months before the closing date of Monday 22 March 2027.

Entry form and competition details are on this webpage: https://ridgewayfriends.org.uk/swire-ridgeway-arts-prize/swire-ridgeway-arts-prize-2027/

The Ridgeway National Trail is much more than an 87-mile walking trail between Overton Hill at Avebury World Heritage Site and Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns. It is an historic monument, an artistic inspiration, and a special natural environment passing through the North Wessex Downs and Chilterns National Landscapes.

The Friends of the Ridgeway is a charity seeking to engage people living near to and using the Ridgeway National Trail in activities that spread knowledge and appreciation of its wealth of historic, artistic and environmental features.

The first Swire Ridgeway Arts Prize exhibition was held by the Friends of the Ridgeway in 2017. Previous exhibits are online at the Friends of the Ridgeway website: https://ridgewayfriends.org.uk/swire-ridgeway-arts-prize/