Art Walk Art Contest selects 75 artworks for display at OTC Fine Art Gallery at The Gillioz

ABOUT OUR JUDGES

Sally Baird: Springfield arts patron and volunteer, Sally Baird currently serves on the executive committee and board of the Springfield Regional Arts Council and the Moxie Cinema. Baird is also on Springfield Little Theatre board and Springfield Regional Opera advisory board, and she serves as a docent for the 5^th grade tours at the Springfield Art Museum.

Merritt Giles: Assistant Director of the Springfield Art Museum Merritt Giles is a native of Valdosta, GA. Giles holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Valdosta State University and Master of Fine Arts from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA. Giles was previously the Curator of Art at the Albany Museum of Art in Albany, GA, where he organized all aspects of traveling exhibits, including an award winning exhibition, The Indian Gallery of Henry Inman in 2012. In addition to the exhibitions, Merritt oversaw the care and research of a permanent collection of 2,100 pieces owned by the museum.

Leah Hamilton: Director of the Arts Administration Program at Drury University, Leah Hamilton previously served as executive director of the Springfield Regional Arts Council. Hamilton is an accomplished singer who currently performs with the Kansas City, Mo.-based ensemble Octarium and has appeared in a number of Springfield productions for Springfield Regional Opera Lyric Theatre, Springfield Little Theatre, Springfield Contemporary Theatre, and the Springfield Symphony. Leah is the Regional Vice President for Missouri Citizens for the Arts.

Mary Hamilton: Mary Hamilton is an award-winning regional artist whose works have been juried into Regional and Statewide galleries and museums. She is an alumna of Missouri State University in Arts Education and taught elementary and secondary art in Springfield Public Schools for 15 years. Mary now serves on the Board of Trustees for SMMA, a non-profit organization serving the Springfield Art Museum and has also served on the Springfield Regional Opera advisory board.

Russ RuBert: Russ RuBert creates sculpture, public art and multimedia environments using stainless steel, aluminum, neon, plastics and photography. In 2007 he was named Artist of the Year by the Missouri Arts Council, is founder and developer of Sculpture.net online community, and serves on the board of the International Sculpture Center which publishes Sculpture magazine. Russ and his wife, artist Pam RuBert, are the founders of RuBert Studios, tireless advocates for public art and the driving force behind ideaXfactory, an ArtPlace America venue.

Anna Squires: Past president of the Springfield Regional Arts Council, past co-chair of Artsfest, co-chair of the SRAC Ozzie committee, and chair of the SRAC development committee, Anna Squires also helped start the Gallery at National Avenue. Professionally she is the Information Technology Director for Southern Supply Company. Prior to beginning a career in IT, Squires worked as a photographer and videographer in Dallas.