Entries Now Being Accepted for 2011 Southern Tier Biennial Art Exhibition

The Cattaraugus County Arts Council (CCAC) has announced a call for artists for the Southern Tier Biennial (STB), a nine-county professionally juried contemporary art exhibition. The application deadline is June 10. Professional jurors from Rochester and Buffalo will review entered artwork on June 20, and artists will be notified of acceptance beginning July 1. Applicants can submit a traditional paper application (available by request at stb@myartscouncil.net or 716-372-7455) or can apply online at www.myartscouncil.net.

Past STB jurors have typically reviewed about 300 submitted works of art. Historically, they have accepted anywhere from 25 to 40 pieces. Accepted works are determined solely by the discretion of the two jurors, who only see an image of the submitted piece, and the title and dimension of the work in order to remove any possibility of bias. STB’s scope, vision and number of accepted pieces are dependent on the judges’ interpretation of what is “contemporary” art.

Juror Marie Via is the Director of Exhibitions at Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, N.Y. Since 1983, she has developed many exhibitions for the gallery, and is committed to making art, especially contemporary art, less intimidating to people than it often seems.

Juror Gerald Mead is an independent curator and arts writer who teaches in the Design Department at Buffalo State College. A former longtime curator at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, where he organized over 150 exhibitions, Meade is a leading authority on Western New York art. He is also an appointed member of the Buffalo Arts Commission, serves on several art committees and boards in the region, and frequently juries local and national art exhibitions and competitions. His own artwork has been in museum and gallery exhibitions throughout the U.S. and in Australia, England, Poland, Russia and Canada.

CCAC's executive director, Anne Conroy-Baiter said, “Any medium, including new media, will be accepted for entry. In fact, the Best of Show winner in 2009 won with an original film.” Eligible visual media categories include paintings, drawings and prints, three-dimensional works, and mixed and new media.

The exhibition is open to all artists, 18 years of age or older, who are currently residing in New York State’s Southern Tier (Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Steuben, Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties).

Accepted STB artists receive numerous benefits including the credibility and prestige of being included with some of the best contemporary artists in New York State. To add to their portfolio, each accepted artist receives five color catalogs, which show a reproduction of their work. In addition, they will learn from the experience of competing in a professionally juried show as well as competing for cash prizes and a solo show.

Each artist accepted into the show will receive a $100 stipend to help defray costs associated with travel, shipping, and production. In addition, five cash awards totaling $3,000 will be presented: $500 for Best of Category in each of four categories and $1,000 to the Best of Show winner.

The Best of Show winner will receive a solo show from Sept. 29 to Nov. 3, 2012, at the Olean Public Library Gallery, their own four-color catalog, a $1,000 honorarium, up to $1,000 for professional development, and up to $1,000 for show expenses.

A two-part artists’ reception will take place on September 17. Part one will take place at Olean Public Library Gallery at 3 p.m., with part two at JCC’s Center Gallery at 4:30 p.m. “We’ll be presenting awards, and there will be entertainment and refreshments,” said Conroy-Baiter. The event is free and open to the public. The STB show will hang through October 22, 2011.

The Cattaraugus County Arts Council (CCAC) founded STB in 2005 through a generous endowment from the F. Donald Kenney estate. The exhibition is produced by CCAC in collaboration with the Olean Public Library Gallery, Jamestown Community College and the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation.

For more information, contact Anne Conroy-Baiter at CCAC by calling 716-372–7455 or by emailing stb@myartscouncil.net. Find general information at www.myartscouncil.net.