2020’s conference will mark another historic milestone: the 50th anniversary of SNAG’s first conference.  Since the original group of smiths came together at the organization’s first conference in 1970, the impact continues to resonate in the organization as SNAG endeavors to positively influence and enhance the livelihood of its large membership. While the 2019 Conference in Chicago celebrated SNAG’s 50th birthday and reflected on the last fifty years, in 2020 we will turn our focus to the future.

In keeping with the theme of the conference, SNAG’s 2019 Juried Student Exhibition, entitled "Grit to Gold" will focus on the future of the field.

The exhibition will be held at University of the Arts in Philadelphia during the 2020 SNAG Conference, May 20-23.

Prizes include:
•Best in Show - $50 in Trunk Show Bucks and a ¼ page ad in Metalsmith, which will be highlighted throughout the year within SNAG marketing
•2 Honorable Mentions - $25 Trunk Show Bucks and SNAG Swag Bag

Additionally, Metalsmith will run a one page highlight featuring the Best in Show winner and the two Honorable Mentions. The highlight will run in issue 4 of vol. 40 which publishes in Fall 2020.

Jurors: Leila Cartier and Lindsay Ketterer Gates

Leila Cartier

Leila Cartier is the Executive Director of CraftNOW Philadelphia, which unites organizations to promote the historic and contemporary role of the city in the fields of craft and making. Her studio practice is located in 1241 Carpenter Studios + Project Space in South Philadelphia and she is represented by SchmidtDean Gallery. 

From 2010 – 2015, Cartier was the Director of Exhibitions at the William King Museum of Art in her hometown of Abingdon, Virginia, an underserved area of the Appalachian coalfields with little to no other access to the arts. Her curatorial projects consisted of bringing art from around the world to the region, documenting and exhibiting material culture from Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee, and presenting regional contemporary art in all media. 

She holds an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and concurrently studied Arabic Language at Depaul University with a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship. Her BFA in Art and Art History from Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia included a year spent with Temple University Rome, Italy.

Lindsay Ketterer Gates
Lindsay Ketter Gates has an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts (1996), a graduate certificate in Non Profit Management/Arts Administration (2002) and a Masters of Business Administration (2018). She was employed as the Director of Development at Peters Valley School of Craft for many years before taking on the role of Executive Director at Touchstone Center for Crafts in May of 2018. Lindsay is the Vice President of the board of directors of the National Basketry Organization and helps to lead their development efforts. For over 20 years she has been a studio artist whose work is in the permanent collection of the American Embassy in the Republic of Djibouti, The Museum of Art and Design in NYC, Yale University Art Gallery as well as other international collections. She is sought to teach and lecture nationally and has spoken and taught at the Smithsonian's American Craft Museum – Renwick Gallery, St. Louis Art Museum, Textile Study Group of NY, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Craft, Peters Valley School of Craft, SOFA Chicago, and the Fiber Arts Guild of Pittsburgh. Lindsay’s work has been featured on the cover of Metalsmith Magazine and on the pages of American Craft Magazine, FiberArts, Fiber Art Now, Surface Design Journal, Shuttle, Spindle and Dyepot Magazine, FIBERARTS Design Book VII, 500 Baskets, Making Good: An Inspirational Guide to being an Artist/Craftsmen, to name a few. In 2005 she was awarded an Individual Creative Artists Fellowship by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, administered by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

Eligibility:

All matriculating or non-matriculating students, part time or full time, under the direction of faculty in any North American institution are welcome to apply. Images of up to three pieces of original artwork relating to the exhibition theme and created between January 2019 and January 2020 may be submitted for consideration. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older. Artworks included in previous SNAG student exhibitions are not eligible. Students must provide the name(s) of metal faculty teaching at their institution. SNAG membership is not required.

Entry Procedure:

1. Submit all application materials electronically through CaFÉ™ at www.callforentry.org   Only applications submitted through CaFÉ™ will be accepted. Deadline: Midnight MST, January 6, 2020. 

For detailed instructions on using the site, click on CaFÉ™ Help. If this page does not address your needs, please contact CaFÉ™ Monday through Friday, between 8:30 am and 5 pm Mountain Time.  Technical support is also available via email: cafe@westaf.org.

2. There is a non-refundable entry fee: $25 for current SNAG student members (use discount code STUDENT20) and $35 for student non-members. There is no additional fee to use the CaFÉ™ online application system.

3. Artists must submit their digital images via www.callforentry.org and according to the CaFÉ™ specifications. Instructions on how to format images to CaFÉ™ specifications can be found online. Entries submitted by any method other than through www.callforentry.org will NOT be accepted.

4. Submit one to three images of work. All work must be accompanied by title, material, dimensions, and year of completion.

5. Artists must also submit:
 - Artist statement (250 word maximum)
 - One-page resume
 - Name of institution/program of study and faculty

*All decisions of the jurors are final. All work must be original. By completing this application artist agrees that he/she is responsible for the creation of submitted works.

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria