At Riverstone we take pride in supporting initiatives that foster creativity, individuality and community. This year we are delighted to be sponsoring a new award category at the 7th Annual Women in Art Prize, a prestigious competition that celebrates female artists across the UK.

This year’s prize is part of the Women in Art Initiative founded by Gabrielle Du Plooy, owner of Zebra One Gallery in Hampstead, who is passionate about encouraging more women to pursue careers as artists in the art world. Her efforts highlight the glaring gender disparity in the art industry. Despite the art market’s immense value, women’s contributions remain underrepresented.

To put it in perspective, out of the $196.6 billion spent on art at auction, $4 billion – around 2% – came from works made by women. Only 13.7% of living artists represented by galleries in Europe and North America are women and less than a quarter of artists featured at global Art Basel fairs are female.

The Women in Art Prize is a much-needed platform to showcase the incredible talent of women artists, with categories for painters, photographers, illustrators and printmakers. This year 22 artists were selected for their outstanding talent and for the first time, a special category was introduced for women over 55.

Riverstone was delighted to sponsor this category. The winner of the over 55 category, Belinda Ellis, received “The Riverstone Prize” and will also have her work exhibited at the Riverstone Bishops Avenue Information Hub.

Supporting this initiative aligns with Riverstone’s values of community and creativity. We are excited to have celebrated this unique collaboration and look forward to sharing the winning art with everyone at Bishops Avenue Marketing Suite & Community Hub.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Women in Art or would like to visit our Bishops Avenue Marketing Suite & Community Hub to see the winning work, please get in touch.