Public Photography Competition Launched to mark the 10th anniversary of Greenham Common reopening

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the reopening of Greenham Common a public photography competition is being launched to give local people the opportunity to illustrate what the common means to them.

The gates which kept the public out of the former US nuclear airbase Greenham Common were cut open on April 8th 2000 and an Act of Parliament was passed in 2002 returning the site to, and protecting it as, common land.

A decade on, BBC Really Wild Show presenter and wildlife author Nick Baker will open a special anniversary event: Common Links on April 10th to mark Greenham and Crookham Commons' Cold War military past and to celebrate its restoration as a haven for wildlife of international distinction and as a precious public open space. Find out more about the event

Now local residents have a fantastic opportunity to have their photographs of Greenham Common included in a prestigious exhibition of artwork Common Links at New Greenham Arts from June 7th - 24th. Your work will sit alongside famous work which has been commissioned over the last decade exploring the common.

Stuart Tagg, Chief Executive of the Greenham Common Trust, which is sponsoring the competition, said: "The common has evoked many emotions over the years so the theme is simply a personal view of what the common means to you. It can be anything from landscapes of walking the dog, appreciating wildlife to personal pictures of people who used to work on the airbase or involved in the peace camps."

Entrants should supply the photograph as an A4 image, in colour or black and white, with a one sentence caption telling the judges what the common means to them. Entries will be short listed into three age groups (5-16, 16-25 and 25 and over).

The final five from each age group will have their work displayed and judged at the event on the Common on April 10th. A winner and a runner up from each category will have their work exhibited with a number of prestigious artists who have produced work on the Common at New Greenham Arts from June 7th - 24th.

All entries must include name, age, address and phone number on a separate sheet of paper with your sentence telling the judges what Greenham Common means to you. Please send your entries to:

A Living Landscape Photography Competition
Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre
Muddy Lane
Thatcham RG19 3FU

The deadline for entries is Friday, March 26th.

The Common Links exhibition will bring together a number of artists who have produced work either directly related to the Common or indirectly in response to its long and varied history. Artists include: Digital Media Artist Susan Collins; Architect Celine Condorelli; Composer and Sound Artist Jessica Curry; Composer and Sonic Artist Hywel Davies; Sculptor Michael Fairfax; Photographer Andrew Flemming; Photographer John Kippin; Painter Frank Knott; Printmaker and Media Artist Dr Jon Pengelly; Sculptor Roger Perkins and Artist/Curator Gavin Wade.

For more information about the Common Links anniversary event please contact Peta Stoddart-Crompton at West Berkshire Council (01635) 519670.

For more information about the Photography Competition contact Julian May at Greenham Common Trust (01635) 817407 or julian@greenham-common-trust.co.uk.