The organization is growing and expanding, and with that comes new ideas that the park would like to explore, he said.
“Opening the selection process up to a general ‘call to artists’ is one of those initiatives,” Robinson said.
The park recently announced its first call to artists for the new gallery series in conjunction with the current fall gallery show, which is now on view through Sat., Nov. 12. The joint exhibition this fall highlights two solo exhibits — “Broken Nature” by Sarah Nguyen and “Drawing In-Between” by Ron Fondaw.
With “Here and Now,” the new winter exhibition, the park would like to feature both established and emerging artists in tandem. The call to artists will appeal to local artists and introduce new artists to the region.
“This will give participants not only a chance to show their art together, but it will give them an opportunity to meet each other, mingle, and network. They’ll be able to talk to their peers or learn from the people that are more established artists,” Robinson said.
The inaugural theme, “Here and Now,” asks artists to reflect on the changes in themselves and their communities, which have occurred over the past couple of years, while dealing with the global issues in our daily lives. This should be done while keeping the park’s mission in mind of “Bringing People to Art in Nature.”
“It’s going to be something that’s current and now, and it’s going to speak to all the things that we are feeling as a society,” Robinson said.
The timeliness of the topic is in the name, “Here and Now,” he said. It’s speaking to what the artists have gone through these past several years, starting with the pandemic.
“With the start of the pandemic, art was immediately put in jeopardy. Organizations were shut down, and the people that rely on the presentation of public works didn’t have opportunities to showcase their art. So, many of these artists have been struggling, and this is a chance to talk about that struggle, the way that the world is currently affecting them, and the way that they’re feeling with everything that’s been happening, and that’s why ‘Here and Now’ demands current pieces,” Robinson said.
It’s what they’ve been working on and how they feel, and that prompt, “Here and Now,” is asking them to tell us “what is here, and what is now” to you?
The exhibition will be on display from Dec. 11 to Feb. 12, 2023. The deadline for artists to submit their work to be considered for “Here and Now” is Sept. 9.
“This is going to be the first one here. It’s the inaugural show for our call to artists. It’s going to be big. It’s going to be a chance for artists to get their art featured in a nationally recognized museum,” Robinson said.
All admitted pieces will be eligible to win an award. “Juror’s Choice” and “People’s Choice” awards will be announced during the closing reception on Feb. 12.
Artists may visit Café for more details or to apply at https://artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info.php?ID=10182. Email Zach Robinson at zrobinson@pyramidhill.org, or call (513) 868-8336 with any questions.
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