Art Contest Winners Announced

In May, our members gathered for our monthly Members’ Gathering at the beautiful Bristol Art Museum to view the entries and learn the winners from our 2024 Annual Art Contest. This annual juried contest is an exciting component of our annual Tours where we invite artists who are registered for the 2024 Open Studio Tour to submit their best work surrounding a certain theme. This year, we invited Tour artists to submit work that captured the essence of water.

Leonardo da Vinci believed water was the driving force of all nature. For centuries, water has captivated the imagination of artists as a fascinating and dynamic element, be it in its solid, liquid, or vaporous form. Maybe they are drawn to its serenity, its mesmerizing movements, its destructive power, its different forms - ice, rain, snow, fog, steam, etc., or its symbolic meanings, we encouraged artists to create artwork that flows with imagination.

Michael Walden (left), first place winner for the 2024 Annual Art contest with SCA President Stephen Remick (right) at the Bristol Art Museum.

This year’s juror was Mary Dondero, an artist and educator living in Massachusetts. Her artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally. In 2011 she was the recipient of an artist residency at Zion National Park, Utah. Dondero has served on the panel of jurors for the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts and is currently serving as Exhibition Curator at Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI and a Board member for Imago Foundation for the Arts in Warren, RI. Dondero is a full-time tenured faculty member in the Department Art and Art History at Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA. Her studio is in Warren, RI and she lives in Rehoboth, MA.

Our artists created a lovely collection of works that captured the essence of water. We hope that you will be inspired by water as you visit studios during this summers’ 21st Open Studio Tour, July 20-21 and August 15-16 in the coastal towns of Tiverton & Little Compton, RI and Westport & Dartmouth, MA. Please visit our website to view the full gallery of entries and the juror’s comments on the winners.

Congratulations to the awardees of the
2024 Annual Art Contest!

First Place
Michael Walden, Swimmers, 36" x 60", Oil on linen

Second Place

William Kendall, Blue Breakers, 36" x 36", Acrylic

Honorable Mention

Kim Barry, Transpiration, 31" x 36", Oil on board

VIEW ALL THE ENTRIES AND JUROR COMMENTS

We look forward to seeing you at the 21st annual Open Studio Tours this summer!

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This program is supported in part by grants from the Dartmouth Cultural Council and Westport Cultural Council, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, through an appropriation by the Rhode Island General Assembly and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Westport Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust administered by Bank of America.

South Coast Artists, a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, educates, represents, and supports artists living and working in the coastal towns of Tiverton and Little Compton, RI, and Westport and Dartmouth, MA. Each summer SCA sponsors studio tours and this year the 21st annual SCA Open Studio Tour takes place on the weekends of July 20-21 and August 17-18. SCA also provides free educational events and grants for emerging artists.