International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition coming to Exeter

The popular International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition, now in its ninth year, will be at Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) from 23 April 2016.

The winning photograph from each of nine categories from the 2016 competition, along with a wide selection of finalists, will be included in the exhibition at RAMM. The categories are: The Beauty of Plants, Beautiful Gardens, Wildlife in the Garden, Portfolios, Bountiful Earth, Trees, Woods & Forests, Wildflower Landscapes, Greening the City and Young Garden Photographer.

Started by a group of professional garden photographers in 2007, International Garden Photographer of the Year continues to be the premium competition for garden and plant photography with entries from all around the world. Run in association with Kew Gardens, the competition attracts over 16,000 entries from around 30 countries.

This year’s winning photo, Tekapo Lupins, was taken near Lake Tekapo, Mackenzie, Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand. Photographer Richard Bloom explains “On the way to Lake Tekapo on the South Island of New Zealand in early summer the landscape, already amazing, was scattered with drifts of naturalised lupins, which gave it an almost psychedelic, wonderland feel. The banks of this stream were bristling with masses of different coloured lupins stretching toward the distant hills and out of shot to the west, giving the sense that they went on forever.”

The International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition will run from 23 April to 28 August 2016: entry £4 adults, £2 concessions. Funds generated from ticket sales will contribute to future exhibitions, activities, events, conservation work and outreach work.

A talk on Tuesday 26 April by Philip Smith, founder of the International Garden Photographer of the Year, will give further insight into the competition: tickets £10, concessions £8.
A special dementia-friendly gallery tour on Wednesday 22 June will help people with mild to moderate memory problems with carers or friends fully enjoy the beauty of the pictures: tickets £15 for two.