Threadneedle Prize

The six "artists" shortlisted for The Threadneedle Prize for Painting & Sculpture, worth £30,000 to the winner, have been announced. It's dreadful stuff, as usual. The only one in the shortlist that looks vaguely interesting is Seamus Moran's Urban Burka, made out of training shoes; but the price tag of £3,000 must be a joke. As for the long list, I waded through it online (CLICK) and most of the entries look as though they were painted by half-witted children. I found a handful of worthy paintings, including Raoof Haghighi's Surrender. The exhibition opens at the Mall Galleries in October. Don't bother.