Tulip Time, together with the Holland Area Arts Council, announces the sixth annual Art in Bloom Poster Competition, for 2016. This competition is the process by which the Tulip Time Festival poster image is selected.
This year's submissions are due October 5, and will be judged by Heather Duffy, an artist from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and exhibitions curator at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids. Duffy comes to the UICA from ArtPrize, where she worked as the exhibitions manager for more than two years, and wrote and directed programs for artists and curators. Before joining the exhibitions team at ArtPrize, she worked in academic and commercial art galleries; since 2007 she has maintained a practice of independently curating, presenting exhibitions of contemporary art in Dallas, New York, Michigan, and throughout the American southeast. Duffy exhibits her studio work regionally and nationally and holds an MFA in painting from Kendall College of Art and Design.
Until 2011, posters were commissioned works from selected artists. Since Art In Bloom transitioned to a poster competition, five local artists have been awarded this honor:
2011 Beth Charles – "Drama Queens"
2012 Brittany Strabbing – "Beautiful Dream"
2013 Maggie Schultz – "Clothed in Splendor"
2014 Karin Nelson – "Resilience"
2015 Carolyn Stich – "Joy of Spring"
The winner of the 2016 Tulip Time Festival Poster will be announced at First Bloom, a special unveiling reception held in February. May 7 – May 13, 2016, the other 19 finalists' designs will be on display at the Holland Area Arts Council, where the public is invited to vote for their favorite as part of the Viewers' Choice Awards. These awards will be presented on May 14, 2016.
Tulip Time and the Holland Area Arts Council express their gratitude to The Lighthouse Group for its continued presentation of Art In Bloom, and thank Allied Business Systems, Alpen Rose Restaurant, and Fifth Third Bank for their sponsorship.
For more details, artists are encouraged to call the Holland Area Arts Council at 616.396.3278. To download a complete prospectus, visit hollandarts.org.
Photo courtesy of Tulip Time & Holland Area Arts Council.
