The British Art Medal Society’s Annual Student Medal Project will be hosted by the New Ashgate Gallery in Farnham from May 2 to June 6.

Now in its 33rd year, this nationally recognised initiative brings together work from leading UK art schools alongside invited international academies, offering a rare insight into one of the most distinctive forms of sculpture.

At the centre of the exhibition is the art medal, a small, two-sided artwork designed to be held in the hand.

Rooted in Renaissance traditions, the form combines sculpture, drawing and storytelling within a highly condensed format.

Using the lost-wax casting process in bronze, students engage with bas-relief as both a technical and a conceptual challenge.

This year’s exhibition presents a wide range of responses. Subjects move from personal narratives and mythology to urgent reflections on climate, identity and social change. The format rewards close looking, with meaning unfolding through surface, text and image.

Alongside the student presentation, the exhibition includes work by artists selected through the British Art Medal Society New Medallist Scheme, supported by the Belvedere Trust.

Established in 2005, the scheme supports emerging artists through mentoring, research visits and professional development, enabling them to deepen their practice within the field of medal making.

The selected works show how the discipline develops beyond education into sustained professional practice.

These medals demonstrate a high level of technical control and conceptual clarity, addressing themes ranging from ecology and the human condition to time, memory and personal experience. Selected works are available for sale.

This year’s prize winners highlight the strength and diversity of submissions. They are Sienna Williams of Leeds Arts University (Drowned Lands); Henry Plumb of West Dean College (Just had to Carry On); Leonie Steinhauer of Pforzheim University (Wings and Blossoms - A Symbiosis); Evie Black of Leeds Arts University (Penny for Your Thoughts); Jocelyn Trevena of City & Guilds of London Art School (Many A Mus Makes A Mickle); Scarlet Brown of Leeds Arts University (Escapism); Toby Williams of Birmingham City University (A Ship at Sea); Lena Latifa of Glasgow Kelvin College (Mined Minds); Leila Omerova of the University of Edinburgh (Evge (Homeward)); and Jemima Benbow of the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (An Icy Dip).

The exhibition coincides with the British Art Medal Society’s 2026 conference, which will be held in Farnham from May 8 to 10.

The conference will bring together artists, curators and collectors for a programme of talks, workshops and events.

For collectors, art medals offer an accessible way to own original bronze work. Produced in editions, they retain the integrity of the making process while offering an intimate, tactile experience of sculpture.

The British Art Medal Society has commissioned medals from many distinguished contemporary sculptors, and their work is extremely varied - portraiture, abstraction, neo-classical, conceptual and satirical. Some are struck from hand engraved dies. The majority are cast in bronze and patinated by the artist.

The gallery in Waggon Yard is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and admission is free.