ABOUT AMoA 

Alexandria Museum of Art is the premier arts center of Central Louisiana, providing quality programming, exhibitions, and events, as well as outreach programs, taking a collaborative approach to meet the educational and cultural needs of our community.

For over four decades, the Alexandria Museum of Art (AMoA) has promoted understanding and appreciation of art through exhibitions and educational outreach programs. The Mission of the museum is to foster a culturally rich community by engaging, enlightening and inspiring individuals through innovative art experiences.

2024 JUROR: Richie Vios

A Signature Member of LPAPA-Laguna Pleinair Painters Association, Member- SWS Southwest Watercolor Society, Member OPS-Outdoor Painters Society, Member AIS-American Impressionist Society. 

Born and raised in Cebu City, Philippines, Richie N. Vios hails from an artistic family Studying architecture, in 1995 he graduated with a bachelor's architecture degree and University faculty member, teaching architectural design and presentation. In 2004 they decided to leave the Philippines in hopes of a better future in America, For the next five years, he worked closely as an architectural designer at a local architectural firm in Clearwater, Florida until his family decided to move to again in Baltimore, Maryland. Seeking to introduce more western architectural concepts in Southeast Asia, Richie returned to the Philippines by himself to share, develop, and construct many of the things he had learned from America. During the next five years there, in his spare time, he refined and honed down a unique mastery of watercolor painting evident in all of his art to this day. In the summer of 2017, his family would move back down to south Texas and after being away from them so long he made sure to be there for them in Victoria, Texas. that's where he knew he could passionately chase the American dream again not as an Architect but as a watercolor impressionist and Pleinair artist. Currently, he lives in Austin Texas but travels most of the time to compete Pleinair events all over the United States and conduct watercolor workshops along the way.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

Event Details: The Farm to Forest Plein Air Festival will be held October 10-13, 2024 in Alexandria, Louisiana at the Alexandria Museum of Art (933 Second Street, Alexandria, LA 71301). Please see below for tentative schedule of events.

Note: While festival dates have been finalized, individual event dates/times may change.  

Thursday, October 10, 2024   10am – 2pm Artist Check In at AMoA;

Quick Paint Challenge 3:30pm – 6:00pm Details TBD

Friday, October 11, 2024        Free Paint – Museum open for art drop off 10am-4pm

Saturday, October 12, 2024    Free Paint – Museum open for art drop off 10am-3pm

Sunday, October 13, 2024      Palette Party & Awards Ceremony; all artwork must be turned in by 12:00pm Sunday for jurying.

Monday, October 14, 2024     Tentative Plein Air Workshop with festival juror 10am – 4pm

EXHIBITION & SALE RULES

-          Canvases and/or paper must be stamped with AMoA’s Farm to Forest Plein Air stamp. Canvases and paper may be toned prior to stamping. Stamping will be available Thursday through Friday 10am to 5pm and Saturday 10am to 4pm at the Alexandria Museum of Art (933 Second Street Alexandria, LA 71301).

-          All works must be completed during the Farm to Forest Plein Air painting event.

-          Artists may paint as many paintings as they choose and may display them at their designated wall space. All artwork can be dropped off at the museum lobby and will be hung by museum staff.

-          All paintings displayed in the museum must have accompanying label and info card attached.

-          Paintings and drawings must have hanging hardware to be displayed in the museum. Gallery wrapped pieces accepted as long as they are wired and able to be hung on the wall.

-          Materials allowed

o   Canvas, panel, paper, copper, wood boards, etc. of any size up to 11”x 14” or 154 square inches

o   Oil, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil are all acceptable mediums

o   Artists may paint at suggested daily locations or may choose to paint in any area within Central Louisiana (Parishes: Rapides, Avoyelles, Grant, Vernon)

SMALL WALL

-          Optional

-          No larger than 6” x 8”  

-          Must be stamped

-          Do not need to be framed but must be able to be hung

ART SALES

-          All art sales will be split 70% to the artist and 30% to the museum.

-          Artist will set his/her price.

-          Artists will receive their payment within 3 weeks of the event. No payments will be made during the week.

-          Commissioned pieces will be permitted at the above-mentioned 70/30 rate. All payments must be processed through the museum.

-          Off the easel: Artists are allowed to sell off the easel. They will be provided with two label cards, which will be filled out with painting details such as artist name, painting title, medium, location and price as well as the buyer’s contact information and form of payment.

o   For credit card transactions, please call the museum or find a staff member with an iPad for processing.

o   Checks must be made out of AMoA. For Cash or Check sales, artist will notify the museum and bring in the payment in a timely manner.

-          Museum Sale: Artists are invited to bring in finished paintings to be hung in the museum galleries every day. Works should be framed and wired, with the label affixed showing painting details clearly. Sold paintings will remain hung up, marked with a red dot sticker until the end of the event, so they may be eligible for awards/prizes.

-          Artists will be responsible for picking up or shipping any unsold paintings.

QUICK PAINT

Join us on Thursday, October 10 for a Quick Paint Challenge, a timed open-air painting event open to the public. Quick Paint participants will set up within a designated area with a stamped blank canvas or paper and their supplies. Painting will start at the sound of the first horn. At the sound of the second horn, brushes must be placed down. The finished pieces may be sold off the easel, or submitted to be hung at the museum.

-           Quick Paint event will be held on Thursday October 10, at 2:30pm to 6:00pm

-           Canvases or paper must be stamped, we will be on site to stamp materials one hour prior to the beginning of the event

-           Artists will have 2 hours to paint, from 3pm – 5pm

-           Public invited to observe

-           2 categories – Juried and Open

-           All works will be available for sale on site, Quick Paint awards will be presented after competition

AWARDS

Final cash awards to be announced at the Palette Party, October 13, 2024

-          First Place - $1,000

-          Second Place - $750

-          Third Place - $500

-          Artists’ Choice – ¼ Page Ad in Plein Air Magazine

-          Peoples’ Choice - $250

HOUSING

-          Housing is available on a first come first serve basis. Please indicate on your application that you will need housing and any special requests/considerations.

-          If you prefer to arrange your own accommodations, please refer to our hotel partners below:

o   Hotel Bentley

o   Holiday Inn Downtown Alexandria

RELEASE OF LIABILITY

By entering this competition you are granting the museum a non-exclusive perpetual license to produce images of your artwork for promotional materials

Application Requirements

Please submit 2-3 samples of plein air work completed within the last 3 years. 

Eligibility Criteria

• Artists must be 18 and older to participate in the Farm to Forest Plein Air Festival
• Artists must work in 2D medium
• Artists are responsible for their own transportation while participating in the festival; framing of works; and shipping/picking up works after the exhibition period.