First ever
University Open
features Best of
the Bluegrass in art
LEXINGTON, KY., April 5, 2006 – The
first University Open, a juried competition between undergraduate fine arts
students at colleges and universities in Kentucky, will open to the public for
a reception and awards ceremony at 7 p.m., Friday, April 15, 2006 at ArtsPlace
Gallery, 161 N. Mill St., downtown. The exhibition is a new event in the third
annual Best of the Bluegrass festival, which opens on Friday, April
7.
Thirty-three
finalists were chosen from 190 entries representing 11 public and private
colleges. Cash prizes of up to $500 will
be awarded to the top three artists, to be announced on April 15. The final selections and winners were juried by
Julien Robson, curator of contemporary art at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville. A full color catalogue of the exhibit
will soon be available for purchase.
“These
are obviously artists who actively respond to the world they live in and who
use the aesthetic to engage the real,” said Robson. “They are artists who understand the power of
art to disturb our complacency and they use it to reveal the fictions that
surround us.”
The free exhibition
will continue through June 4. The
finalists and their schools are: Carla Brunsell, Berea College; Cassandra Jean Lewis,
Eastern Kentucky University; Amber Bridges, Georgetown; Erin Fletcher, Ryan Harper, Hillary Harrison, Julie
Leidner, Natalie Richards and Jonathan Stich, University
of Louisville; Steven Rodgers, Morehead State University; Savannah Jarman, Northern Kentucky University; Ali Murray and Sarah
Walker, Transylvania University; Cara Dee Grandy, Kristina
Griesshaber, Ryan Habeeb,
Caitlin Heinz, Matthew Herron, Rachael Kerley,
Michael Martinez, Andrew McCowley, Michelle McGeary, Brandon Nicholas, Libby Purcell, Eric Rickert, Cassie Stokes, James Ryan Summers, David Tucker,
Catherine Van Kempen and Matt Wiseman, University of Kentucky, and Michael Davis, Jacob Isenhour
and Sara
Truman,
Western Kentucky University.
“This was a
great opportunity for the fine arts students in our state to showcase their
talent and have it assessed by an internationally respected curator and
educator,” said James M. Clark, president and CEO of LexArts. “For the next two months, it’s also an
opportunity for the public to have a first look at some of our rising stars.”
A public
reception for the artists will begin at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 15 at ArtsPlace, 161 North Mill Street in downtown Lexington, with the three winners to be announced
at 8 p.m. Entertainment by Laptop Lounge and Big
Maracas will continue until 11 p.m.
University Open
will be on view in the ArtsPlace Gallery through June
4, 2006. Gallery
hours are Monday –
Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday 12:00 – 4:30 p.m.
The Best of the Bluegrass
is a week-long celebration of the area’s culture, including art, music,
thoroughbred racing, dance, theater and food, organized by LexArts. The presenting sponsors are Keeneland, Toyota Motor Manufacturing
Kentucky, the University of Kentucky and Meijer. More details are online at www.bestofthebluegrass.org
and www.LexArts.org.
* * *
LexArts is Central Kentucky’s premier cultural development,
advocacy and fund-raising organization. Its programs provide the resources
necessary to ensure high quality arts and cultural offerings for residents and
visitors, enhancing the quality of life in the region.
As both the area arts council and arts fund, LexArts provides a wide range of
programs and services designed to integrate the arts into our daily lives,
including Dynamic Doors, Horse Mania, the quarterly Gallery Hop, ArtScene and Weekend for the Arts.
LexArts was formed in July
1989 by the merger of the Lexington Council of the Arts (founded in 1972) and
the Fund for the Arts (founded in 1984).
LexArts services arts organizations, artists, and educational
institutions.
CONTACT: Travis Robinson
859-255-2951
Community Arts Director
trobinson@lexarts.org