UA Department of Art and Art History students, faculty and alumni were among the artists whose work was selected for the 36th annual West Alabama Juried Show, sponsored by The Arts Council of Tuscaloosa. The awards ceremony and reception took place during First Friday Art Walk, December 2, 2022.
West Alabama artists were allowed to submit up to three works for judging including two- and three-dimensional pieces. The competition was juried and the winners selected by Shawn Dickey, department chair and professor of art in the department of art and design at Mississippi University for Women.
Instructor and UA Book Arts alumna Charlotte Wegrzynowski was awarded the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama Purchase Award of $1,000 for her charcoal drawing, “Scatter.” Wegrzynowski is a full-time instructor in drawing and design at UA.
UA alumna Rachel Ann Wakefield won the Gail Skidmore Memorial Award of Excellence Contributed by The Arts Council of $300, for her painting, “The Red, The Blue,” and alumna Deborah Hughes won the $100 Cash Award Contributed by The Arts Council for her painting, “Where Form Meets Substance.”
An Honorable Mention went to instructor Daisie Hoitsma Young and to graduate student Stephen Blades.
Also juried into the exhibition was work by alumnus and instructor Tom Wegrzynowski and alumna Rebecca Godfrey. Current students Abigail Brewer, a junior majoring in studio art in the CREATE Path to MBA program; Ella Smyth, a senior BFA major in studio art with concentrations in painting and drawing; and Susan Xiao, a double major in communication studies and studio art also had work juried into the exhibition.
Established in 1985, the West Alabama Juried Show represents The Arts Council’s mission to promote the arts in Tuscaloosa County. The exhibit offers local artists in West Alabama counties the opportunity to have their work displayed in a public setting and win cash awards for their efforts.