Thirty artists from Pembrokeshire and beyond will be waiting with baited breath tomorrow (Saturday) to find out whether they have won a £1,500 prize in the Torch Theatre’s new Open Art Competition.

The work of all 30 shortlisted artists goes on exhibition tomorrow, but only one artist will win the coveted prize. They will not know who the winner is until the preview night tomorrow.

With the aim of being cutting edge, visually stimulating and thought-provoking, local, national and international artists practicing in contemporary and conceptual art, inclusive of painting, installation, film, photography, print, sculpture and ceramics were invited to submit entries.

The panel of selectors for Pembrokeshire Open 2010 includes Anthony Shapland from G39, an artist-run gallery in Cardiff which specialises in contemporary work, together with artists David Fitzjohn and Alison Hayes and the Torch Theatre’s General Manager, Daniel Shaw.

Entrants hail from Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and, further afield, from Cardiff, Bristol, London and even Valencia in Spain!

Their work is as varied as the geographic spread: from an installation made with thirteen 20-metre lengths of crocheted fishing line to small sculptures made from wire, plaster, plasticine and card; an installation depicting telephone cables - with a twist; photographs reminiscent of 16th and 17th century Dutch still life paintings among the exhibits.

A total of 19 paintings, four photographs, five sculptures, three installations, one wall painting, one tapestry, one DVD, five prints and one drawing can be seen at the Joanna Field Gallery in Milford Haven’s Torch until March 28th.

Further details can be found at www.torchtheatre.co.uk.