"The Fourth Annual Art Show to be held in St Andrew's Church, Presteigne, Powys, will take place over the May Bank Holiday weekend from Saturday 29th April to Monday 1st May 2006. The exhibition, organised by the Friends of St Andrew's, will comprise new works by some sixty established British artists, many of them living in the Welsh Borders, and including a number of Royal Academicians.

Each year the organisers of the exhibition have raised the standard of the work on show and, following the success of the introduction in 2005 of work by contemporary silversmiths, there will be an enlarged section this year devoted to attractive pieces of silver with innovative designs but timeless appeal.

Sir Roy Strong, the well-known historian and writer, lecturer, critic and columnist, will formally open The Art Show during the Private View on the evening of Friday 28th April. Sir Roy, former Director of the National Portrait Gallery and of the Victoria and Albert Museum, lives in Herefordshire and is a great supporter of emerging artists.

Once again the painter Shân Egerton from Hay on Wye is both curating and exhibiting at the Show and other artists from the area who will be contributing new works include Simon Dorrell, Seren Bell, Charles MacCarthy, Julian Meredith and Colin See-Paynton.

The Royal Academicians taking part this year will be Norman Ackroyd, Craigie Aitchison, Diana Armfield, Frederick Cuming and Bernard Dunstan. Other distinguished artists from London and elsewhere, some of whom have not been featured previously, will include David Inshaw, Tom Coates, Edmund Fairfax-Lucy, Charlotte Halliday, Martin Yeoman, Ann Brunskill, Julian Barrow, Melita Denaro, Marcus May, Paul Mosse, Lizzie Rose and Mary Jackson.

One of the Welsh artists whose prints will be represented is Edwina Ellis who lives in Ceredigion and who designed the obverse of the new one pound coins which feature four bridges - one each in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

There will be work by twenty six silversmiths included. Fifteen of the silversmiths are students or fellows of the Bishopsland Educational Trust, a unique organisation that offers postgraduate training workshops for silversmiths and jewellers and acts as a bridge for young graduates between college and the harsh realities of the commercial world.

Many of the silversmiths to be featured at The Art Show took part in the Goldsmiths' Fair in October last year and several will take part in the Collect Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in February this year. Among them are Angela Cork whose work can be found in the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Ndidi Ekubia, MA RCA, who has work in Winchester Cathedral and has won several awards including the Asprey Prize.

There will also be work by silversmiths from the Welsh Borders including Andrew Marsden from Pembridge, who has pieces in the V&A and The Silver Trust at No. 10 Downing Street, and Pamela Rawnsley from Powys whose silver and jewellery has been widely exhibited throughout the UK and Europe.

The money raised will go towards the on-going restoration of St Andrew's, an outstanding Grade I listed medieval church that was regarded by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as the finest in Radnorshire. Since 1999 the Friends of St Andrew's have raised funds for the repair and conservation of the Church and some of its important possessions.

At the 3rd Annual Art Show held in 2005, £53,500-worth of silver and paintings was sold and raised some £13,000 pounds for the church, the participating artists and silversmiths generously donating a quarter of the selling price. Over three years, the Art Show has sold works of art for a total of over £140,000 and contributed some £28,000 to the church.

Much of the important project has already been successfully carried out. The Victorian hall - originally Presteigne's first girls' school and now called St Andrew's Hall - was opened for community use in November last year and the work on the monuments and the chancel of the church is complete. However renewal of the heating system, the re-wiring in the church and restoration of the organ, a vital part not only of parish worship but also the Presteigne Festival, is still to be done.

The project is being generously supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, but the Friends of St Andrew's still need to raise some £50,000."

Art Show Update by Fiona Annersley

"Some £67,000-worth of sales of paintings and contemporary silver were made at the Fourth Annual Art Show held in St Andrew's Church, Presteigne, Powys, over the May Bank Holiday weekend compared with £53,500 last year. This raised £15,000 for the ongoing restoration of St Andrew's. Over four years, the Art Show has sold works of art for a total of well over £200,000 and contributed some £43,000 to the church.

Together with a generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, these funds have been used to restore for community use St Andrew's Hall, originally Presteigne's first girls' school, and complete important work on the monuments and the chancel of the outstanding Grade I listed medieval church. Renewal of the heating system, re-wiring and restoration of the organ remains to be done.

The exhibition was staged by the Friends of St Andrew's who would like to thank all the participating artists and silversmiths for their support as well as the many volunteers who helped to make the event so successful.

Written by Fiona Annesley from the Presteigne Annual Art Show