Southern Arizona Arts & Culltural Alliance - Art Exhibitions

ART EXHIBITIONS - Art in Oro Valley Contest & Exhibition

Saaca

Media contact: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kate Marquez
Executive Director
Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance
(520) 797-3959, ext. 6
kate@saaca.org

SAACA names winners in ninth-annual ‘Art in Oro Valley’ competition
Works by contest winners, more than 25 other artists on display at Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance exhibit at Ventana Gallery through June 30

April 26, 2010 — The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA) this month recognized works by seven area artists in its ninth-annual Art in Oro Valley Competition and Exhibition.

The exhibition takes place at the Oro Valley corporate campus of Ventana Medical Systems, a sponsor the annual event.

Every year since the contest’s inception, artists from the Greater Oro Valley region enter original works for consideration based on an overall theme. The theme for the 2010 contest: cultural diversity.

Participating artists were required to demonstrate how their works, which were created expressly for the Art in Oro Valley contest/exhibition, related to that central theme.

The 2010 winners of the Art in Oro Valley Competition and Exhibition:

First place: Meg Newberg, for her oil painting “Sunday Afternoon,” which depicted a gathering of Zapotec women cooking a Sunday meal. The Zapotecs were an indigenous people of Mexico.
Second place: Victoria von Elbe, for her four-color woodcut “My Village,” an interpretation of a classic Shaker settlement. Shaker architecture commonly was viewed as sparse, highly utilitarian, unadorned and beautifully proportioned.
Third place: Magdalena Nowacka-Jannotta, for her paper-cutting “Lacey Gwiazda (Star),” a work combining the intricate style of traditional Polish paper-cutting with colors and textures of the Southwest.

Honorable mentions went to the following artists:

Allison Alexandra, for a pastel portrait of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Alice Barnhart, for a pastel portrait of a Korean broom-maker.
Pam Davidson, for her acrylic featuring the iconic imagery of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), an annual celebration of remembrance in Latina America.
Shirley Richards, for a collage that evokes classic Southwest imagery.

The works of contest winners and recipients of honorable mentions, as well as works submitted by nearly 30 other artists, will remain on display through June 30 at the gallery at Ventana Medical Systems, 1910 E. Innovation Park Drive.

The gallery is open to the public, free of charge, from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays and from 1 to 4 p.m. Fridays.

In a second gallery space at the Ventana campus, SAACA also will display works by three featured artists: Sherrie Posternak, Gale Prososki-Marsland and Wall Batterton.

Works by these three visual artists will remain on display through June 25. For more information about their works, go online to http://saaca.org/events-ventanagallery.html.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Images of the three Art in Oro Valley winners (Newberg, von Elbe and Nowacka-Jannotta) are included as .JPEG files with this release. Images of honorable mention recipients are available by request.

About the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance
The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA) is a not-for-profit organization that exists to ensure that, through engagement in arts and culture, our communities produce strong, inspired citizens. SAACA enlists artists, businesses, governments, and individuals to expand artistic and cultural opportunities in their respective communities. To enhance access to the arts and to promote cultural awareness in the communities it serves, SAACA presents large-scale festivals, events and other programs. The Alliance also promotes educational opportunities in the arts and culture for both the young and the old.

Organization History
The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA) grew out of the Greater Oro Valley Arts Council (GOVAC), an organization established in 1997 to provide artistic and cultural opportunities for residents of northwest Tucson. GOVAC eventually became one of the largest arts organizations in the region. In 2009, owing to its success, the group expanded its mission to include creation of partnerships with business, governments, and communities throughout Southern Arizona that would encourage innovative, creative cultural expression in the arts for years to come.

For more information about programs and events produced by the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance, go to www.saaca.org.

2010 Winners

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1st PlaceMeg Newberg "Sunday Afternoon"

2nd PlaceVictoria von Elbe "My Village"

3rd PlaceMagdalena Nowacka-Jannotta "Lacy Gwiazda (Star)"

Honorable MentionAllison Alexandra "Gabrielle Giffords"

Honorable MentionAlice Barnhart "Korean Broom-Maker"

Honorable MentionPam Davidson "Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)"

Honorable MentionShirley Richards "Southwest Imagery"