What is a juried exhibition anyway?

For juried exhibitions, artists submit their artwork for consideration in an open, competitive group exhibition. Usually, the artist sends in the best images of his or her recent work. In some cases, the artist will be asked to submit the actual artwork to be considered.

Each exhibition has distinct judging, some with committees or jury teams, others with one focused curator. The specifics vary from show to show, but generally the curator or juror evaluates the work based on some sort of criteria, whether it is technical skill, creativity, or how well the artist works in a particular medium. While the process may be rather subjective, the curator will try to choose work that best reflects the idea or theme of the show.

Juried shows frequently boast cash prizes for artists and publications. Many have entry fees as well, some of which support the cash prizes. Organizers include nonprofit art spaces, artist groups and even commercial galleries. Possible audiences and types of exhibitions vary greatly.

The competition can be intense, as only a certain number of artworks can be accepted, so it’s a good idea to follow the application instructions and submit quality images and materials on time.

For more information and questions to ask about juried exhibitions, see this article in Art Calendar. The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition will offer the workshop “Jury Duty: Entering Juried Shows & Competitions” on Thursday, December 10, 2009, 5:30-7:30pm at the Price Tower Arts Center in Bartlesville.

by OVAC intern Ashley Romano

Exhibition Glimpse: Woodmansee & Twilley at Velvet Monkey

Imaginative and realistic draftsmanship highlight both David Woodmansee and Brandi Twilley’s show of macabre drawings, which opened at the Velvet Monkey Salon on 16th street in Oklahoma City’s Plaza District on Friday the 13th.

Woodmansee’s drawings are fanciful and mesmerizingly detailed ink and marker creations executed with a smooth, illustrative touch. Most are black and white or sepia renderings, where color is splashed sparingly. His subjects - animals, monsters, and vampy women, are at home in the dark palette which is used to create scenes of the absurd, the grotesque, and sometimes, the beauty beneath the menace.

Twilley’s work is a series of dense and precisely shaded pencil drawings, all of which pair two female skeletons mid-stroll on a fashion runway in a variety of settings and garb. The dreary frames sport both eyeballs and full heads of hair, but are absent any insulation minus the creations they are modeling.

Caustic and precious at the same time, the statement pieces have lovely texture. They are repetitious, symmetrical, and strangely calming. It’s easy to forget the gaunt frames are meant to be unsettling.

The skeletons serve as an antithesis of Woodmansee’s female forms, examining the menace beneath beauty, yet the two differing interpretations are not at odds, as the two artists’ styles are complementary.

The adage “the devil is in the details” comes to mind, as you see every bone in anatomically correct proportions and placement in Twilley’s work, and similarly, Woodmansee captures every pine of cactus, and every scale on a snake’s body. These artists miss nothing, and the sheer energy and concentration they have poured into these unassumingly small works (scale-wise) is awe-inspiring.

The show runs through December 11th, and some works are available for sale. The Velvet Monkey’s hours are Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

by OVAC intern Sarah Clough Chambers

Plot Points from @OVAC Twitter Feed:

Behind the Art Scenes:
Lynn Basa giving the low down on public art commissions, find out why they want art/who being served, politics of group/funding

Want to know what people are saying about you & even your art online? Free Google Alerts rock, track blogs, media & more daily www.google.com/alerts

RT @TylerGreenDC: Kind of a crappy day to be a *real* professional, scholarship-interested/minded curator: http://bit.ly/3S15WW

RT @Americans4Arts: You don't have to be famous to be an effective arts advocate. Here's how you can play your part http://tiny.cc/Uv84R

This is a typical scene in articulate artists' studios http://yfrog.com/5gq7rdj

Opportunities for Artists:
designers, artists, experimenters- Fred Jones Jr Museum of Art $1000 prize for top WPA-style poster, Nov 30 deadline www.ou.edu/fjjma

Super yummy OKC coffee place seeking artists to exhibit ARTIST NEEDED Send Sample to arts@coffeeslingers.com

OVAC News:
And, Art 365 artist selections are in! Congrats to Grace Grothaus (Tulsa), Aaron Hauck (Ada), Geoffrey Hicks (Tulsa), Liz Rodda (Norman) & Frank Wick (Norman)

Drumroll please... Momentum Spotlight OKC 2010 artists are: Amber Farnell (Okemah), Geoffrey Hicks (Tulsa), & Delvie McPherson (OKC)

For anyone keeping track, that's $65,250 in artist awards announced today! Go Okies!
Seeking bands to play at Momentum OKC 2010 (March 5-6). Contact OVAC at 405-879-2400 by December 2 if you're interested

pumped to meet Lynn Basa, public artist & author of this http://www.guidetopublicart.com , she starts "mentoring" 3 Okie artists Wednesday

Reading: Juried Exhibitions

I was glad to see Alyson Stanfield’s email newsletter topic this week about Assessing juried exhibit opportunities as we prepare for our December 10 Artist Survival Kit panel discussing Juried Shows & Competitions

Alyson asks insightful questions about the potential career and artistic impact through juried exhibitions. Rather than passively entering your artwork into the most timely (or convenient) opportunities that arise, she pushes you to find out more about the benefits and evaluate what you hope to gain. I appreciate that she gives no easy answers, but expects artists to consider each show for themselves.

The OVAC ASK panel will include the jurors themselves-- curators and gallerists who do the selecting-- talking about how they review artwork. Watch for more posts about juried shows in the upcoming weeks.

OVAC Grant Recipient: Whitney Forsyth

Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition grants support artists' projects and career development. OVAC funded a record amount of artists in the past year, 30, granting more than $16,000, and is on pace to support even more artists' projects this year. Intern Ashley Romano profiled recent Creative Project Grant recipient Whitney Forsyth.

Whitney Forsyth, Tulsa: Creative Projects Grant recipient

Forsyth uses natural objects as a visual resource for her work, as they have always been an integral part of her life. Her experiences “represent personal stories that allow people and events to become celebrated and sacred, instead of forgotten or unnoticed.”

Forsyth’s proposed project, The Devouring, explores the “complexities of the child welfare system in Romania.” She has created 100 life-sized ceramic crows that will be arranged in a 40-foot long line on six waist-high, fence-like pedestals. Forsyth said her work has been greatly influenced by her volunteer work with abandoned children in Eastern Europe for the past 13 years. “This work will focus on the increasing number of children annually entering institutions and the government’s choice to ignore them.” The installation will be completed by January 2010, when it will be exhibited at Living Arts Gallery in Tulsa.

Forsyth is a ceramic artist and associate professor of ceramics at the University of Tulsa. She grew up in Manitou Springs, Colorado and began working with clay at an early age. She received her BFA in ceramics from Oklahoma State University and completed her Master of Fine Arts in 1995 from New Mexico State University.

See OVAC's website for more information on OVAC’s grant opportunities.

Plot Points from @OVAC Twitter Feed:

Behind the Scenes & Reading:

Ha ha ha. Graph of people's reaction to me being an art student (thanks to Frank Wick for forwarding) http://ow.ly/BrzB

telling article about artists working at nonprofits from the awesome nonprofit e-newsletter Blue Avocado http://www.blueavocado.org/node/457

back story on Federal government's art collection, things I didn't know for sure http://ow.ly/Bn9e

Good reminders & tips about artists statements from @abstanfield http://ow.ly/Bn0T

We can't wait, so exciting for art in Oklahoma! @OKCMOA 's new contemporary series launches in January http://bit.ly/3rdESt

Opportunities for Artists:
Apprentice with community-based artist this spring! Okie artists apply by Dec 7 Http://www.maaa.org/muralproject

Native American Artist Entrepreneur workshop starts Fri eve! First People's Fund leading in Locust Grove register donna-tinnin@cherokee.org

Art Calendar self-portrait contest: win $500 in art supplies + be on cover of the magazine w/ a feature! http://bit.ly/2juqWj

OVAC News:
Yay! National Endowment for the Arts grant approved supporting Art 365 2011!

check out great article about our neighbor, @IstvanGallery http://tinyurl.com/yk2e9t9 (@plazadistrict) & our Board president! Go Stephen!

is thankful for all of our volunteers and supporters. Check out volunteer of the month, Eric Wright!... http://bit.ly/11nsu2

is featured on Allied Arts blog today! Check it out at http://bit.ly/NP9y5

Using the Keyboard to Make the World Your Studio

This Saturday, November 14, OVAC will present an Artist Survival Kit Workshop giving artists some tips and information for marketing their artwork. "Getting the Word Out: Marketing and Social Media for Artists" will be held from 1-4pm at the USAO Art Department in Chickasha. Today is the last day to get a discount on your registration and there is still plenty of space left for you! One of our presenters, Patrick Allmond, is our guest blogger today, giving you a glimpse of what he'll be speaking about. More information about the workshop and online registration is at www.ArtistSurvivalKit.org. Hope to see you there!


"I think the DNA pool gave you - the artist - a different set of senses than the rest of us.

When I look at a bucket of paint, a block of clay, or a piece of paper I see a colorful two dimensional piece of material that I used to play with in days gone by.

But not you. You see so much more in the world. You see different shapes, different colors, and different sides of things that a lot us never thought to consider. You make us smile, frown and sometimes goes "Ahhhhhhhhh" with your creations. I love the fact that art - of any type - can alter the perspective of any human being that experiences it. The viewer is forever changed after seeing the creation that is the fruit of the artist.

However the constant challenge as an artist is to get people to see the world the same way that you do. Almost every day of your existence is spent trying to share your creation, your thoughts, and your feelings with the people around you. It would be great if art marketed and sold itself. But until that happens you need to find better and more cost-effective ways of sharing your creations. One of the best ways starts right at home with that keyboard and that mouse.

Saturday we are going to spend 75 minutes together talking about using technology to help artists spread the word of their craft. My presentation titled "Using the Keyboard to Make the World Your Studio" will touch on how marketing has evolved online and the five key areas you need to consider exploring. We will also be talking about Social Media or "Anybody Media" and how this differs from traditional marketing.

The best part of our discussion is the cost of what it will take you to use these tools. You will be surprised to learn that everything I mention on Saturday costs nothing.

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday."
- Patrick Allmond
http://patrickallmond.com/