Greene County News
XENIA — The Feb. 1 deadline is approaching for artists to submit entries for Art & Soul, an art competition that celebrates artists with developmental disabilities.
Art & Soul is a regional juried art competition and exhibit that welcomes artists from throughout Ohio. It will begin with its 10th anniversary exhibit opening in April. The opening reception and awards ceremonies, which are open to the public, will be held 3-5 p.m. Saturday, April 22 at Toward Independence, 81 E. Main Street in Xenia. The exhibit will run until May 12.
Entries will be selected in a variety of media, with details included in the entry form. Forty-five entries will be selected from among those submitted, with entries to be judged by Glen Celabush, chair of the Wright State University Department of Art; Glenna Jennings, assistant professor of photography at the University of Dayton; and Cincinnati-based landscape artist and printmaker Valerie Shesko. Megan Esterkamp will serve as the exhibit curator. Judges will also select the top 10 entries for cash awards, including $500 for Best of Show. All artists selected for the two week ehibit will have the opportunity to sell their work.
The exhibit is coordinated through the partnership of Toward Independence and Partners for Community Living to provide opportunities for artists with developmental disabilities to professionally showcase their work. It is sponsored by the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Greene County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Hamilton County Board of Developmental Disabilities, and the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for organizations and businesses, as well as opportunities to purchase ad space in the exhibit program. Sponsorships directly support the artists through cash awards and the professional matting and framing of all work selected for the exhibit.
Information, including artist entry forms and sponsor forms, is available by contacting exhibit coordinators at [email protected].
