Known as one London’s landmark exhibitions, the ING Discerning Eye 2021 attracted a record-breaking number of entries from artists around the UK. From 7,500 submissions, 500 works by 300 artists were shortlisted by the selectors: actor and TalkArt host Russell Tovey, The Art Newspape r’s Anna Brady, artists Adelaide Damoah and Pete Brown, and art collectors Tony Humphreys and Roland Cowan. All of the shortlisted artworks are accessible through the new hybrid format, both at the Mall Galleries and online .

As the exhibition opened to the public on Friday 12 November, 19 artists were awarded prizes ranging from £250 to £5,000 by the Discerning Eye charity and their sponsor ING.

Rochelle Ayele received the ING Purchase Prize , worth £5,000, for her painting Chale Wote , inspired by her visit to Africa’s annual Street Art festival in Accra, Ghana.

“The daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, I have visited Ghana throughout the years” says the London-based artist. “I aim to uplift and focus on the ways in which black people choose to celebrate life, to compensate for a world that doesn’t encourage them to” Rochelle Ayele explains. “My work is rooted in the expression of people of colour, human interaction, and self-authenticity.”

“ Rochelle’s work stood out for its dynamic composition that draws the viewer in and showed the lived experience of the artist of being in a bustling and lively city” says an ING spokesperson.

Frances Featherstone, Trust Me , The Discerning Eye Chair’s Prize
The Discerning Eye Chair’s Prize , worth £1,000, was awarded by Sarah Hall to Frances Featherstone for Trust Me .

The tightly composed oil painting represents the interior of The Gunton Arms, a pub in North Norfolk, including a neon work by Tracey Emin. “I was inspired to paint the figure standing at the open doorway, inviting the viewer to step through a gateway to adventure, to take a leap of faith, or trust, as the sign asks” explains the East-Sussex-based painter.

“I found myself repeatedly drawn to this work” says Sarah Hall, Chair of the Discerning Eye charity. “It spoke to me at an emotional level.”