Art of the State 2022

Exhibition Dates: January 20 - March 27, 2022
Call for Entry Dates: August 2 - October 17, 2021

Every three years, all 10,000 square feet of the Arvada Center Galleries is filled with a celebratory survey of the incredible diversity, quality, and depth of work from Colorado Artists. After its start in 2013 and iterations in 2016 and 2019, Art of the State 2022 continues the legacy as a juried exhibition showing off the powerful scope of contemporary art from across the state. 

Before completing your application, please review eligibility criteria and terms of submission. To complete the application, you will need to gather all relevant information about the pieces you are submitting. You may choose to submit a statement/bio but it is not required.

Jurors:
Louise Martorano, Executive Director, Redline Contemporary Art Center
Ellamaria Ray, Artist-Anthropologist, Professor of Africana Studies, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Collin Parson, Director of Galleries and Curator, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities

Eligibility Criteria and Terms of Submission - Please read thoroughly before beginning your application.

Eligibility:
1.    Open to all artists over age 18 who currently reside in Colorado
2.    All media are eligible. Please refer to size restrictions below.
3.    All applications must be completed online through CaFÉ; no paper applications will be considered.

Artwork Must Be:
1.    Original (no giclée prints or wrapped canvas prints)
2.    Created within the past 3 years (2019-2022)
3.    Not previously shown at the Arvada Center
4.    Framed/2D work must be ready to hang, should not exceed 6 feet in any one direction, and must weigh less than 100 lbs.
5.    Sculpture may not exceed 8 feet in any one direction
6.    Installations, performances, and new media pieces are encouraged to apply. 

Any artwork not conforming to the selected conditions set forth will be disqualified. For specific questions regarding eligibility, please email galleries@arvadacenter.org

Submissions:
1.    Non-refundable entry fee of $35 for up to 3 pieces
2.    Images may be JPG files only
3.    Crop images to exclude framing and background
4.    Images must represent the work exactly
5.    Label JPG files as follows: Lastname_Firstname_Piecenumber.jpg (For Example: Doe_Jane_1.jpg)

Delivery and Return of Accepted Work:
1.    Shipped work should arrive no later than December 20, 2021. Ship work in sturdy, reusable crates or cartons. Work will be returned in the container and materials in which it arrived. Artists must provide a pre-paid return shipping label.
2.    Artwork may be hand-delivered December 28 - 29, 2021 9:30am - 4:30pm.
3.    Arvada Center provides insurance for artworks while on premises.
4.    Arvada Center is not responsible for damage or loss during transport.

Sales of Artwork:
1.    If artwork is sold, artists will receive payment after the close of the exhibition.
2.    Arvada Center retains a 40% commission on art sales. Prices may not be changed after submission.

Awards:
1.    Cash awards will be given to Best of Show, 2nd, and 3rd place.
2.    Other independent awards will be awarded.

Important Dates
•    Deadline for entries: Sunday, October 17, 11:59 p.m. Late entries will not be considered.
•    Email notification by November 5, 2021
•    Hand-delivered artwork: December 28 - 29, 2021 9:30am - 4:30pm
•    Opening Reception: January 20, 2022 6pm - 9pm
•    Awards Ceremony: January 20, 7:30 pm
•    Final Day of Exhibition: March 27, 2022
•    Pickup unsold works: April 30-31, 2022

Juror Bios

Louise Martorano

Executive Director, RedLine Contemporary Art Center

Louise Martorano is the Executive Director of RedLine, a non-profit contemporary art center and residency located in Denver, Colorado. RedLine's mission is to foster education and engagement between artists and communities to create positive social change. Under her leadership, RedLine has received the Denver Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts (2014 & 2015), the Greenway Foundation’s “Partner in Change” award, acknowledged by Denver Public Schools for excellence in community engagement, and has presented and organized over 100 exhibitions over the past 10 years. She holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder and M.H. from the University of Colorado, Denver with a focus in Contemporary Art History & Music. In 2017, Martorano was awarded a Livingston Fellowship from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation for promising nonprofit leaders who hold significant leadership roles in Colorado’s nonprofit sector. She also sits on the advisory committee for the Visiting Artist, Scholar & Design program at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, is the Board Treasurer for the Global Women’s Empowerment Fund, and is on the Board of Trustees for the Harmony Hammond Trust. 

Ellamaria Ray

Artist-Anthropologist, Professor of Africana Studies, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Ellamaria Ray, a professor of Africana studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver, is a part of the first generation in her family to be born and raised outside of the south.  She uses visual and performing art to understand and analyze cross-cultural human experiences, particularly those of continental and diasporic Africans.  Earning a B.A. from Colorado College, an M.A., and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Johns Hopkins University gives her a foundation for questioning humanity’s vastness.  Her knowledge of figurative and conceptual ceramic sculpture comes from independently studying with Arthur González, and taking classes with Jean Van Keuren (Davis Arts Center), Arnold Zimmerman (Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass, Colorado), Gayla Lemke, and Barry Rose (Art Students League of Denver).   Marie EvB Gibbons (Marie EvB Gibbons Studio) also played a pivotal role in Ray’s ceramic development.  She’s engaged local, national, and international audiences in dialogues about the ideas embedded in her work.  As a humanistic anthropologist and artist,  she explores the relationship between ethnographic data and creative expression as a tool for understanding our contemporary human experience.

Ray’s academic and creative emerge from a commitment to acknowledge how continental and diasporic Africans share cultural commonalities while simultaneously expressing cultural distinctions.  In the end, she strives to understand the complex vision diasporic Africans create for themselves and all of humanity as we walk further into the twenty-first century.

 

Collin Parson

Director of Galleries and Curator, Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities

Born and raised in Colorado, Collin Parson currently serves as the Director of Galleries and Curator for the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities in Arvada, Colorado, is a former member of the historic Pirate: Contemporary Art cooperative, and is an alumni of RedLine's artist residency program. An arts administrator, artist, curator, and designer, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Design and Technology with an emphasis in Lighting and Scene Design from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his Master in Arts in Visual Culture and Arts Administration from Regis University in Denver. 

Having curated over 150 exhibitions since 2008, Parson helped launch the triennial exhibition Art of the State in 2013.  Parson is the recipient of many awards and recognitions for his curatorial and art projects. Named one of  “100 Colorado Creatives” by Westword magazine, 303 Magazine's “artist to watch in 2020”, and a participating Meow Wolf Denver artist, Parson has been featured in numerous print and broadcast media. Son of Colorado sculptor Charles Parson, Collin grew up enmeshed in the region’s art community long before his professional career began. 

Application Requirements

Submissions:
1.    Non-refundable entry fee of $35 for up to 3 pieces
2.    Images may be JPG files only
3.    Crop images to exclude framing and background
4.    Images must represent the work exactly
5.    Label JPG files as follows: Lastname_Firstname_Piecenumber.jpg (For Example: Doe_Jane_1.jpg)

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria and Terms of Submission - Please read thoroughly before beginning your application.

Eligibility:
1.    Open to all artists over age 18 who currently reside in Colorado
2.    All media are eligible. Please refer to size restrictions below.
3.    All applications must be completed online through CaFÉ; no paper applications will be considered.