Art Walk announces winners of 12th Anniversary Art Contest

A total of 97 different works of art were entered in the contest, and 75 pieces by 35 artists were selected for the exhibition, which was hosted by OTC Fine Art Gallery at The Gillioz.
“The response to this year’s contest was phenomenal!” said Clarissa French, Art Walk communications director. “We were thrilled with the quantity and quality of works received, and we are finding that this annual contest regularly introduces us to amazing artists that were previously unknown to us. This event is really becoming a fantastic venue for discovering emerging artists in our region.”

One such talent is Marion DeCocq, winner of both the Grand Prize and The People’s Choice.

“I want to be sure to thank Kat Allie and the OTC Fine Art Department for the incredible support they provide in hosting, hanging and coordinating both the professional jurying and the People’s Choice voting for this contest and exhibition,” French said. “I’d also like to thank our amazing panel of jurors, who did such a fantastic job in selecting our honorees.”

2013 contest jurors are: Sally Baird, arts patron; Merritt Giles, assistant director of the Springfield Art Museum; Leah Hamilton, director of the Arts Administration Program at Drury University; Mary Hamilton, award-winning regional artist; Russ RuBert, sculptor and public art activist; and Anna Squires, co-chair of the Springfield Regional Arts Council’s Ozzie Committee and chair of the SRAC Development Committee.

The Art Walk Anniversary Art Contest & Exhibition, launched in 2011 in honor of Art Walk’s 10^th anniversary, is open to all artists age 18 or older in the southwest Missouri region. The contest awards $500 in cash prizes as follows: Grand Prize – $250; Second Place – $100; Third Place $50 and the People’s Choice, selected by vote of the people attending the exhibition during the October Art Walk, $100.