Press Release
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Fine artists and amateur and professional photographers from across the state were invited to participate in the 2019 Judged Fine Art and Judged Photography Competitions & Exhibitions, organized annually by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department and presented May 1-5 as a component of the 2019 North Charleston Arts Fest. A total of 309 fine art entries were accepted in the categories of oil, acrylic, watercolor, drawing, printmaking, pastel, and 2D mixed media. Cash awards totaling $6,350 were made at the sole discretion of the judge, Hannah Shepard. Shepard is a visual artist and has been the Executive Director of the 701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, SC, since 2017. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting from Savannah College of Art & Design in 2017. Awarded magna cum laude from College of Charleston, her undergraduate degree was a double major in Arts Administration and Studio Art with a minor in Art History. She has exhibited her work throughout Charleston and Atlanta, while also working as an assistant gallery director and interning for museums and non-profit spaces.
A total of 212 entries were accepted in photography, which were split into the divisions of Professional/Advanced and Amateur and categorized as color or monochrome. Cash awards totaling $1,450 were made at the sole discretion of the judge, photographer Jeffrey Rich. Rich's work focuses on water issues ranging from recreation and sustainability to exploitation and abuse. He explores these subjects by using long-term photographic documentations of very specific regions of the United States. Jeff received his MFA in photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. His project Watershed: A Survey of The French Broad River was awarded the 2010 Critical Mass Book Award and was published as a monograph in 2012. His work has been exhibited across the US and internationally and is held in several public and private collections. In 2017, Watershed: The Tennessee River was published with Fall Line Press. Jeff also curates the weekly series Eyes on the South for Oxford American Magazine.
In addition to awards given by the judges, four pieces were selected for City of North Charleston Purchase Awards. These selections will be added to the City of North Charleston's Permanent Public Art Collection, which is on display within North Charleston City Hall throughout most of the year.
Congratulations to the winners:
Best in Show – Fine Art: Sean Patrick, Revelation, mixed media (Goose Creek)
Honorable Mentions – Fine Art
City of North Charleston Purchase Awards
Kris Manning, North Charleston Skyline, drawing (Mount Pleasant)
Matt Cook, Looking for Master, printmaking (Florence)
Tracy Gansraw, The Dreamer, acrylic (Granite Falls)
Professional Photography – Color
Sean Hartman, Washed Out II (Summerville)
Professional Photography – Monochrome
Honorable Mentions
Nicole Robinson, Reflecting (Charleston)
Amateur Photography – Color
Honorable Mentions
Amber Dillo, Blacksmith's Fire #1 (Charleston)
Amateur Photography – Monochrome
For information about additional exhibition opportunities offered by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, call 843-740-5854, email culturalarts@northcharleston.org, or the Arts & Culture section of northcharleston.org. For details on the North Charleston Arts Fest, visit NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com.
