West Virginia artists and craftspeople will be presented with 18 awards totaling $33,000 in a ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 18, in the West Virginia State Theater of the Cultural Center in the State Capitol Complex. The ceremony, which will begin at 7 p.m., will precede the opening of the West Virginia Juried Exhibition 2003, which features works in the areas of painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, mixed media and crafts by 94 West Virginia artists. The exhibition will continue through Feb. 1, 2004.
A reception will follow the ceremony. The awards ceremony and reception are free and open to the public.
All 103 pieces in the exhibit, including the award winners, were chosen by jurors James Adkins, director of visual arts and gallery director at Howard Community College in Columbia, Md., and Tom Spleth, full-time working artist and former curator at the City Gallery of Contemporary Art in Raleigh, N.C. Adkins and Spleth viewed more than 385 submissions to select the show. The awards money is made available through the West Virginia Commission on the Arts of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History from funds appropriated by the West Virginia Legislature. The awards constitute one of the largest endowments for any single juried exhibition in the country.
Many of the works on display are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. Cultural Center hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. For more information about the West Virginia Juried Exhibition 2003, call Stephanie Y. Lilly, exhibits coordinator for the Division, at (304) 558-0220, ext. 128.
The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division. The Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
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Ginny Painter
Director of Public Information
West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History
The Cultural Center
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Charleston, WV 25305-0300
Phone (304) 558-0220
Fax (304) 558-2779
ginny.painter@wvculture.org