More than 190 pieces of artwork by regional artists have been accepted into the Michiana Annual Arts Competition (MAAC) and will be on exhibit in all four of the Box Factory for the Arts galleries, 1101 Broad St., St. Joseph, MI, beginning on May 19 and continuing through July 9th. The galleries are open on Wednesdays-Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with extended hours on Thursdays until 7 p.m. Awards will be presented to artists during a reception on May 19 from 5:30-7 p.m. Music will be provided by Berrien Artist Guild member Jessica Fogle who will be conducting a kid’s summer music C.A.M.M.P. (Create a Mini Musical Play) at the Box. Light refreshments and a cash bar will be available. The event is free and open to the public.
Maggie Bandstra, who served as the MAAC judge, will offer comments about this year’s exhibit. Maggie graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with an MFA in painting in 2021. She has competed in all Art Prize competitions since the first one in 2009, and taught art for 27 years.
The Best of Show award of $1,500 is sponsored by the Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council continuing a tradition of underwriting the MAAC. This year’s award goes to Lynne Kramer of Benton Harbor for her 3D entry entitled “Mist Over the Mountains.”
Providing the $500 category awards are: Honor Credit Union; John Devries Insurance Agency; Foster Swift Collins and Smith, PC Attorneys; Krasl Art Center; Cooper & Associates CPAs, PLLC; Gast Family Farms; AEP Foundation; and an Anonymous Donor. Second Place awards of $100 will also be presented.
New this year is the “People’s Choice” Award offering the opportunity to vote for your favorite artwork. It’s easy to participate. View all the artwork in the galleries or online at gogophotocontest.com/MAAC and cast your vote. Each vote costs $1 and you can vote as many times as you’d like between May 19th and July 9th. The goal is to raise $1,000 for the Box Factory, and if we do, donors Robert and Joan Judd will match with another $1,000. The People’s Choice winner will receive $100.
The Category winners are: Eliza Sarra, St. Joseph – Drawing – “Birds of Flight” Julie Koch – Benton Harbor – Fiber Arts – “Flower Garden” Matt Payovich – St. Joseph – Oil Painting – “Ellis” Sara Sokol – Stevensville – 3D – “Intuition” Sherry Saenz – South Haven – Black and White Photography – “Natural Abstract” Mary Whalen – Richland, MI – Color Photography – “Summer Garden” David Baker – St. Joseph – Water Media – “Between the Water and the Sky” Mary Whalen – Richland, MI – Pop-Up/Zine/Poster/Illustration – “World of Wonders”
Second Place awards go to: Laurie Rousseau – South Bend, IN – Drawing – “Vanate” T.J. Schwartz – St. Joseph – Fiber Arts – “The Stories I Was Told” Robert Williams – Stevensville – Oil Painting – “Bella in Green Shirt” Michele Corazzo – Chesterton, IN – 3D – “Sextet” Nolan Tackett – St. Joseph, – Black and White Photography – “Tetons” Surekka Ninala – Berrien Springs – Color Photography -“Sandstone Palace” Nathan Margoni – Benton Harbor – Water Media – “Golden Boy” Betsy Gill – St. Joseph – Pop-Up/Zine/Poster/Illustration – “Nevertheless Blooming”
The artwork of more than 130 regional artists has been accepted in the Michiana Annual Arts Competition (MAAC in the Box) and will be on exhibit in the Box Factory for the Arts galleries, 1101 Broad St., beginning on May 13 and continuing through July 3rd. The galleries are open Wednesdays-Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with extended hours on Thursdays until 7 p.m.
Awards will be presented to artists during a reception on May 13 from 5:30-7 p.m. Music will be provided by Matt Lenny and the Breakdown band. Light refreshments and a cash bar will be available. The event is free and open to the public.
Thea Grigsby, who served as the MAAC judge, will offer comments about this year’s exhibit. She has managed museums and galleries, including the South Haven Center for the Arts, the Holland Museum and the Hearst Art Gallery in California. Prior to her non-profit work, she had a 20-year career in graphic design developing creative graphic software in Silicon Valley
The Best of Show award of $1,000 is sponsored by the Southwestern Michigan Tourist Council. It goes to Miranda Heward of Bridgman for her drawing “Life is Strange.”
Providing the $200 category awards are: Foster Swift Collins and Smith, Krasl Art Center, DeVries Insurance Agency, MailMax, Cooper and Associates, CPAS, Gast Family Farm, The Aware Lab for Movement and Creativity, and Bryan Lubeck.
The category winners are: Laurel Kuehl, Kalamazoo – Drawing – “Winter Blooms” David Baker, St. Joseph – Water Media – “Storm” Marcy Mitchell, Dowagiac – Oil – “Making Sense of Time” Yehudit Newman, Berrien Springs – Fiber Arts – “Hope and Fury” Andy Sawyer, St. Joseph – Black and White Photography – “Resiliency 1” Carly Norris – Niles – Color Photography – “Equilibrium of Decay – Triptych” Douglas LaFerle – St. Joseph – 3-D/Sculpture, Ceramics/Glass – “Earth, Wind, Rain, Fire” Kathleen Thometz – St. Joseph – Pop-Up-Assemblage/Collage – “Gray Room”
Honorable mention awards also go to: Mary Firtl, South Bend – Drawing – “Nature Entwined” Robert Briggs, St, Joseph, – Water Media – “The Befallen” Rebecca Hungerford, St. Joseph – Oil – “A Night Out” Laurel Izard, Michigan City – Fiber Arts – “5 of Wands” Nathan Harrmann, St. Joseph – Black and White Photography -“Braids” John Gatto, Stevensville – Color Photography – “Relics of Michigan Avenue, Benton Harbor” Becky Rotter, Sodus – 3-D/Sculpture, Ceramics, Glass – “Garden Passage” Teri Starosta, St. Joseph – Pop-Up/Assemblage/Collage – “Love and Lies”
Miranda Heward, Bridgman – Best of Show- “Life is Strange.”Laurel Kuehl, Kalamazoo – Drawing – “Winter Blooms” David Baker, St. Joseph – Water Media – “Storm”Marcy Mitchell, Dowagiac – Oil – “Making Sense of Time”Yehudit Newman, Berrien Springs – Fiber Arts – “Hope and Fury”Andy Sawyer, St. Joseph – Black and White Photography – “Resiliency 1”Carly Norris – Niles – Color Photography – “Equilibrium of Decay – Triptych”Douglas LaFerle – St. Joseph – 3-D/Sculpture, Ceramics/Glass – “Earth, Wind, Rain, Fire”Kathleen Thometz – St. Joseph – Pop-Up-Assemblage/Collage – “Gray Room”
The artwork of 90 regional artists has been accepted into the Michiana Annual Arts Competition (MAAC) and will be on exhibit in the Box Factory for the Arts galleries, 1101 Broad St., beginning May 14 and continuing through July 11th. The galleries are open Fridays-Sundays from noon to 4 pm, and are free to the public.
Mary Whalen, Photography and Digital Media Department Chair at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, judged the work and selected 162 pieces of artwork to be on exhibit. She also selected the Best of Show, six category awards and honorable mention awards. The sculpture award was selected by Tami Miller of the Krasl Art Center.
The Best of Show award of $1,000 is sponsored by the Southwest Michigan Tourist Council. It goes to Mary Amador of Goshen, IN for “Her Hiding Place.” The piece is acrylic and colored pencil on a wooden panel with gold leaf and small crystals.
Providing the $200 category awards are: An Anonymous Friend of the Arts; B.E.R. Refrigeration, Heating and Cooling and Plumbing; Caffe Tosi; Foster Swift Collins and Smith Attorneys; John DeVries Insurance Agency; Krasl Art Center; and MailMax.
The category winners are:
Doug LaFerle, St. Joseph, MI – Sculpture – “Icarus”
Zech Ray, Berrien Springs, MI – Watercolor – “Summer Lillies”
Kei Constantinov, Michigan City, IN – Oil and Acrylic – “Strumpets on the Rialto”
Becky Rotter, Sodus, MI – Ceramics – “Trio in Black and White”
Pamela DeMarris, Benton Harbor, MI – Photography – “Woman with Apples”
Laurel Kuehl, Portage, MI – Pastel and Drawing – “Veiled Light”
Judy Hallisy, Saugatuck, MI – Miscellanea – “Peyote”
Doug LaFerle, St. Joseph, MI – Sculpture – “Icarus”
Zech Ray, Berrien Springs, MI – Watercolor – “Summer Lillies”
Kei Constantinov, Michigan City, IN – Oil and Acrylic – “Strumpets on the Rialto”
Becky Rotter, Sodus, MI – Ceramics – “Trio in Black and White”
Pamela DeMarris, Benton Harbor, MI – Photography – “Woman with Apples”
Laurel Kuehl, Portage, MI – Pastel and Drawing – “Veiled Light”
Judy Hallisy, Saugatuck, MI – Miscellanea – “Peyote”
Mary Amador of Goshen, IN for “Her Hiding Place”
Honorable mention awards also go to Pam Nivala, Sculpture; Pallavi Manjrekar, Watercolor; Zech Rey, Oil and Acrylic; Kari Black, Ceramics; Jay Wise, Photography; Laurel Kuehl, Pastel and Drawing; and Denise Tackett, Miscellanea.
The awards will be presented to the artists at a tent reception and open house at the Box Factory on June 19. The event from 5:30 to 8 pm is free and open to the public. Guest moderator Pat Moody of Moody on the Market will present the awards at 7 pm.
