North Charleston Arts Fest call for fine art and photography
The City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department invites entries for the North Charleston Arts Fest Judged Fine Art Competition and the Judged Photography Exhibition. Both exhibitions will be on display at the Charleston Area Convention Center April 29 – May 6.
Artists ages 18 and up are invited to participate in the fine art competition, which includes cash awards in five categories totaling up to $4,675. Categories include acrylic, oil, drawing/pastel, watercolor, and mixed media. Applicant may enter any combination of categories with a maximum of four entries total.
Entries must be ready for exhibition. Maximum width of entries is 48″w x 60″h x 3″d (including frame). Work must be framed, gallery wrapped, or have finished edges and must be wired for hanging. No glass clip frames or hanging brackets. A non-refundable fee of $10 per entry is due at drop-off. Entry fee is paid by cash, credit card, or check made payable to the City of North Charleston. A 15 percent commission will be charged on all sales resulting from the exhibit.
Amiri Gueka Farris is the judge for the fine art competition. Farris is a contemporary artist working in painting, drawing, video, performance, and installation. His pieces are inspired by intimate, personal experiences and examine issues surrounding race, culture, memory, and perception. Farris received his MFA in Painting and BFA in Illustration and Graphic Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design. His academic appointments have included professor of Fine Arts Foundations and Graphic Design for the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art at Georgia Southern University and professor of Fine Arts at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort. His work has been featured in more than 50 solo exhibitions and juried museum exhibitions across the U.S., including the United States Capitol and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. He currently resides in Bluffton, S.C, and teaches Foundation Studies at the Savannah College of Art Design.
Professional and amateur photographers ages 18 and up are invited to participate in the photography exhibition, which will offer cash awards in three categories totaling $2,175. Divisions include professional or advanced and amateur. Categories are color, monochrome, and digital illustration. Applicant may enter any combination of categories with a maximum of four entries total.
Entries must be ready for exhibition. Minimum print size is 8″x 10″ mounted on foam core or gator board. Matting is optional. Maximum mat size is 16″x 20″x 1/4″. No frames, hooks, or plastic wrapped entries. Self-adhesive hanging tabs will be attached to the back of each piece by sponsor. A non-refundable fee of $5 per entry is due at drop-off. Entry fee is paid by cash, credit card, or check made payable to the City of North Charleston. A 15 percent commission will be charged on all sales resulting from the exhibit.
The photography exhibition judge is Michelle Van Parys, a professor at the College of Charleston in the Studio Art Department. She received her BFA from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. and her MFA in Photography from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her photographs have been shown internationally in solo and group exhibitions. A monograph of her photographs, titled The Way Out West: Desert Landscapes, was published in 2009 by the Center for American Places at Columbia College Chicago. Van Parys has been the recipient of a Virginia Museum Fellowship and a S.C. Arts Commission Fellowship. Her work is included in several museum collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The High Museum, the Virginia Museum of Fine Art and the Portland Art Museum.
Entries for both exhibitions must be delivered Weds., April 27 or Thurs., April 28, from noon – 7 p.m. Deliver entries to the Exhibit Hall Lobby of the Charleston Area Convention Center (5001 Coliseum Drive, North Charleston, SC 29418). Use the International Blvd. entrance. Directional signs will be posted.
Find a full prospectus and entry instructions for both exhibitions at NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com/apply.