West Virginia artists and craftspeople will be presented with 18 awards totaling $33,000 in a ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 1, in the Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater of the Cultural Center, State Capitol Complex, Charleston. The ceremony, which will begin at 7 p.m., will precede the opening of the West Virginia Juried Exhibition 2005, which features works in the areas of painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, mixed media and crafts by 93 West Virginia artists. The exhibition will continue through Jan. 29, 2006.
A reception will follow the ceremony. The awards ceremony and reception are free and open to the public.
All 123 pieces in the exhibit, including the award winners, were chosen by jurors Donald Kuspit, art critic and professor of art history and philosophy, State University of New York at Stony Brook and contributing editor at Artforum, Sculpture and New Art Examiner magazines, and David McFadden, chief curator at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City. Kuspit and McFadden viewed more than 430 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 theWest Virginia Juried Exhibition 2005, contact Stephanie Lilly, exhibits coordinator for the Division at (304) 558-0240, 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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