Forty-one works by 20 local artists have successfully made it into this year's Bacardi Limited Biennial of Contemporary Art.

The exhibit opens at the Bermuda National Gallery (BNG) on June 18. Veerle Poupeye of the National Gallery of Jamaica and Tumelo Mosaka of the University of Illinois' Krannert Art Museum, juried 277 pieces by 71 local artists. All submissions were created within the last two years.

Successful artists include Meredith Andrews, John Battersbee, William Collieson, James Cooper, Louisa Flannery Bermingham, Graham Foster, John Gardner, Charlie Godet Thomas, Kathy Harriott, Scott Hill, Antoine Hunt, Christina Hutchings, Bill Ming, Kevin Morris, Bryan Ritchie, Alan Smith, Ian Macdonald-Smith, Michael Walsh, Sunell Lombard, and Charles Zuill.

The 2010 Biennial is the BNG's ninth. The two jurors said they were "very pleased" with the quality of work submitted and were "quite surprised" to discover just how active Bermuda's art scene is.

BNG director Lisa Howie commended all of the artists on their submissions.

"Looking across the eight previous biennials, we can see how the exhibition has evolved, and how this current exhibition makes a strong statement about contemporary art in Bermuda," she said. "All of the artists who submitted work must be commended, as submitting to an international jury takes some courage. "I trust that all of the artists will embrace the jury's selection, and that this biennial will help to locate Bermuda's artistic talent on the map."

BNG curator Sophie Cressall agreed. She said the jurors were "committed to examining the submitted art through the international lenses within which they work, and this has led to a very tight, cohesive exhibition which has strong international credibility".