RISING VOICES 2: The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realist Painters
May 28 through September 5, 2021
Ten women from across the country who paint in the figurative realist style were named finalists for the $50,000 Bennett Prize®, the largest art award ever offered solely to women figurative realist painters, and now in its second round of awards. The finalists were selected from among 674 entrants, a number that surpasses the entrants in 2018, the inaugural year of The Prize. Endowed at The Pittsburgh Foundation by art collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, The Prize is designed to propel the careers of women artists.
Bennett Prize goes to painter Ayana Ross
Ayana Ross, McDonough, GA
Painter Ayana Ross, of McDonough, Georgia, has won the prestigious 2021 Bennett Prize. Ross’s work explores identity and cultural awareness in the everyday lives of African Americans in the American South. The winner of the $50,000 award was announced at the Rising Voices 2: The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realist Painters May 27.
Opening & Award Presentation
Rising Voices 2 Exhibition & Finalists
The exhibition is on display at the Muskegon Museum of Art on May 28 – September 5, 2021. HOURS & ADMISSION
An exhibition of the finalists’ works will travel following the Muskegon Museum of Art showing. Stops in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are planned and more venues will be added.
Transfiguration, a solo exhibition of new works by Aneka Ingold, the winner of The Bennett Prize 1, is also on display at the Muskegon Museum of Art through September 5.
The paintings of Aneka Ingold, 2019 Bennett Prize winner, are presented alongside Rising Voices 2. The MMA will feature artwork made during Ingold’s two years of Prize support. Her paint and colored pencil paintings merge intricate detail with flat and bold graphics to tell stories of womanhood, of her own experiences and those of women through history.
The exhibition will open to the public at the Muskegon Museum of Art on Friday, May 28. HOURS & ADMISSION
Fecundity Mixed media on paper, 2021 74 x 48 inches Courtesy of the artist
Aneka Ingold Symbiosis (Diptych) Mixed media on paper, 2021 48 x 40 inches (each) Courtesy of the artist
Aneka Ingold Live and Let Live Mixed media on paper, 2019 48 x 58 inches Courtesy of the artist
Virulent Mixed media on paper, 2021 74 x 48 inches Courtesy of the artist
Beyond the Ceiling: Women of Studio Glass celebrates the contributions of women artists to the international movement of studio glass making. Enhancing the Muskegon Museum of Art’s own permanent collection with loans by contemporary women artists, this exhibition showcases a range of interests and design in glass, revealing the innovations and vision that women have contributed over the decades.
Special thanks to Habatat Galleries of Royal Oak, Michigan, for lending to this exhibition.
The exhibition is organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art and is on display at the MMA through August 29, 2021. HOURS & ADMISSION
Nancy Callan (American, b. 1964) Flight of the Lobster Blown and etched glass, 2008 Purchase, through the gifts of Stephanie Dresen and an Anonymous Donor, by exchange 2009.11
Caterina Urrata Weintraub (with David Weintraub) Overgrown #2 Flameworked glass & mixed media, Courtesy of Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, MI
Amber Cowan Periwinkle Triple Bloom 2 Flameworked American pressed glass, mixed media, 2020 Courtesy of Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, MI
Debora Moore (American, b. 1960) Blue Lady Slipper Wall Sculpture Blown and shaped glass, 2004 Gift of the Drs. Osbie and Anita Herald Fund, Nancy Waters, and C. Corcoran Tuttle, 2004.13 Photo by Frederic Reinecke
CALL-FOR-ENTRY: 92nd Michigan Contemporary Art Exhibition
April 5 through July 9, 2021
92nd Michigan Contemporary Art Exhibition
Entry open April 5 through July 9, 2021
The 92nd Michigan Contemporary Art Exhibition (September 23 through November 10, 2021) continues our legacy of showcasing the work of Michigan artists, from talented beginners to accomplished professionals. This competitive show presents a look at the issues, themes, and materials inspiring today’s Michigan artists. A visitor favorite, the exhibition engages, challenges, and inspires conversation. Entry is open to Michigan residents ages 18 and over.
Entry fee is $35, for up to two works. Members are $20 with code (please call 231-720-2571 to get discount code before entering).
Digital submission of entries is available at www.callforentry.org starting April 5, with a deadline of July 9, 2021.
PLEASE READ ALL OF THE CALL-FOR-ENTRY RULES AND TERMS BEFORE APPLYING.
SUBMIT IMAGES FOR NO MORE THAN 2 (TWO) WORKS. ENTRY DOES NOT GUARANTEE EXHIBITION OF ART
Karen Hampton is an internationally recognized conceptual artist whose work addresses issues of colorism and kinship within the African American community. She is a weaver, dyer, painter, embroiderer, storyteller, and teacher. She holds a BA from New College in San Francisco, CA and a MFA from University of California at Davis and her art has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Recent solo exhibitions include those at Michigan State University in Lansing, MI; the Honolulu Museum of Art in Honolulu, HI; the Jack Bells Gallery in St. James, London, England; the Museum of Craft and Folk Art, San Francisco, CA; and Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. Group exhibitions include those at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Dartmouth, MA; the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, CA; the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, CA; and the Muskegon Museum of Art’s own traveling exhibition Innovators and Legends: Generations in Textiles and Fibers which ran from 2012 to 2015. Hampton taught at Howard University in Washington, D.C. from 2007-2011 and in 2017 was an assistant professor and Critical Race Issues Resident Artist at Michigan State University. Hampton’s artwork is held in the collections of the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum, Hamilton College, Clinton NY and the Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii. She received the coveted Eureka Prize from the Fleishhacker Foundation in 2008.
WOMEN AT THE FOREFRONT: Stories from the Permanent Collection
May 20 through August 29, 2021
Alcoa Foundation Gallery
Women at the Forefront: Stories from the Permanent Collection presents artworks by women who were highly influential and successful during their lifetimes, exhibiting, teaching, innovating, advocating, and pioneering. Today, many of their stories are being rediscovered and shared with new audiences.
