The Arts & Culture Alliance announces a call for entries for its 16th annual National Juried Exhibition, developed to provide a forum for artists to compete on a national scale and display their work. Approximately 45-55 fine art works encompassing all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists will will be selected for exhibition in the Balcony gallery of the Emporium Center at 100 S. Gay Street, the anchor to Knoxville’s downtown arts scene, from February 4-26, 2022. The deadline for entries is Sunday, December 5, 2021. Cash awards total more than $1,000. Artists may view the information and complete the entry form at www.knoxalliance.com/nje-entry.
The call for entries is open to all artists. Entries must be original works completed within the last two years in the following categories: 2-D (painting, drawing, mixed media, printmaking, photography) and 3-D (sculpture of all media). Work may not have previously exhibited in any Alliance exhibition. The nonrefundable entry fee is $40 for up to three works ($25 for Arts & Culture Alliance members and students). Up to three additional entries may be submitted for $7/each ($5 for members/students). A “pay what you can afford” fee structure also exists and allows for three entries only.
About the juror: Tommie Rush, a native of Mobile, Alabama, is a glass artist who lives and maintains a studio, Tomco Inc., in Knoxville, Tennessee. She began her early studies in ceramics which ultimately lead her to working in glass. By 1980, Rush began to share a studio space with renowned artist Richard Jolley, who she married several years later. Through tireless experimentation and the development of custom blended glass mixed in the studio, she has created a unique and identifiable style which has been celebrated in over 75 exhibitions. Her work can be found in numerous private and museum collections through out the United States including the Sheldon Art Museum and Sculpture Garden in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C., and the Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, Tennessee, among others. Rush completed a glass and welded steel site specific commission for the headquarters of Scripps Networks in Knoxville. As a tireless supporter of the arts, she has served on several national boards including the Glass Art Society in Seattle, Penland School of Craft, Asheville, North Carolina, and the American Craft Council located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She currently serves on the Public Art Committee Advisory Board, the UT Arts and Humanities Advisory Board, and on the Big Ears Board in Knoxville, Tennessee.
More information about the program, as well as images from previous exhibitions, may be found at www.knoxalliance.com/national-juried-exhibition. The National Juried Exhibition of 2021 featured the work of 45 artists as selected by juror Addison Karl.