Call for Artists: Bethesda Painting Awards

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites local artists to submit work to the 14^th annual Bethesda Painting Awards. This juried art competition awards $14,000 in prizes to four selected winners. The deadline for submissions is Friday February 23, 2018. Up to eight finalists will be chosen to display their work at Bethesda’s Gallery B in June 2018.

The competition will be juried by Sally Bowring, Professor of Painting and Director of Administration for the Painting & Printmaking Department, Virginia Commonwealth University; Laura Roulet, independent curator and writer and Bill Schmidt, artist and winner of the 2016 Baker Artist Awards and the 2015 Bethesda Painting Awards.

The first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000.  A “young” artist whose birth date is after February 23, 1988 may also be awarded $1,000.

Artists can apply online or download an application at http://www.bethesda.org/bethesda/bethesda-painting-awards. For information on the Bethesda Painting Awards, visit www.bethesda.org or call 301-215-6660.

Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. All original 2-D painting including oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, encaustic and mixed media will be accepted. The maximum dimension should not exceed 60 inches in width or 84 inches in height. No reproductions. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years and must be available for the duration of the exhibition. Selected artists must deliver their artwork to the exhibit site in Bethesda, MD. Each artist must submit five images, an application and a non-refundable entry fee of $25.

The Bethesda Painting Awards was established by local business owner Carol Trawick in 2005. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda and established The Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation in 2007. She is the former Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. and founder of The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards.

Best in Show winners include:

2005 Joe Kabriel, Annapolis, MD

2006 Tony Shore, Baltimore, MD

2007 Matthew Klos, Baltimore, MD

2008 B.G. Muhn, North Potomac, MD

2009 Camilo Sanin, Jessup, MD

2010 Nora Sturges, Baltimore, MD

2011 Alison Hall, Roanoke, VA

2012 Ali Miller, Baltimore, MD

2013 Barry Nemett, Stevenson, MD

2014 Kyle Hackett, Baltimore, MD

2015 Bill Schmidt, Baltimore, MD

2016 Tanja Softic, Richmond, VA

2017 Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann, Washington, D.C.

Bethesda is located just outside the nation’s capital and is renowned throughout the Greater Washington, D.C. area for its international dining, spectacular festivals and distinctive boutiques. From award-winning theatre to independent films, downtown Bethesda’s Arts & Entertainment District is filled with inspiring artists and art venues. The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is managed by the Bethesda Urban Partnership,