The biennial New Light Prize Exhibition is the largest open prize dedicated to art from the Northern regions. It is open to all artists who were born, studied or live in one of the historical counties of the North of England. It recognises and rewards the skills of talented artists in the North and awards the region’s best prizes and exhibition opportunities. The judges selected a total of 84 works by 61 artists which following the Bowes Museum exhibition will tour to the Mercer Gallery, Harrogate, in February after which a selection of the works will travel to Panter & Hall Gallery, London in June. Art reviewer and 2015 Judge, Laura Gascoigne, reflects: “True to its name, New Light is a revelation. None of the open exhibitions I've judged in the past has tapped into such a pool of undiscovered talent. There are always a few established artists whose work one recognises, but nearly all the artists here were new to me and there were several I was astonished - and rather ashamed - not to have come across. I hope this exposure will make them more visible in future. The sheer variety of work, at all levels, was heartening - it bolstered my faith in the vigour of British painting.”

The artists selected to show in this year’s exhibition are: Michael Ashcroft; Henna Asikainen; Jake Attree; Sarah Jane Bellwood; Laney Birkhead; Neil Bousfield; Gareth Bunting; John Byrne; David Chandler; Helen Clapcott; Anthony Connolly; David Cook; Hester Cox; Anne Desmet RA; David Dodsworth; Maxwell Doig; Alan Flood; Brian Gallagher; Sarah Garforth; Sally Gatie; Rachel Gibson; Pam Grimmond; Peter Holt; Glenn Ibbitson; Andres Jaroslavsky; Peter Knight; Steven Lawler; Emma Lawrenson; Peter Layzell; Paul Lewin; Debbie Loane; Moira McTague; Hugh Miller; David Morris; James Naughton; Tony Noble; Zosia Olenska; Mandy Payne; Genevieve Pennington; Anja Percival; Anna Poulton; Peter Quinn; Chris Rigby; John Ross; Jonny Shaw; Lotty Alexander Smith; Louis Smith; Paul Stone; Alan Stones; Kate Sully; Jo Taylor; Chris Thomas; David Thomas; Andrew Thursfield; Robyn Townsend; Joshua Waterhouse; William Watson-West; Patsy Whiting; Lynne Wixon; Christopher P Wood and Tom Wood.