Call For Entries for WAC's Summer Member Exhibition

The Westport Arts Center announces its Call For Entries for SELECTS 2018, our twelfth annual summer member artist exhibition.

The exhibition will be juried by Joe Amrhein and Susan Swenson of Pierogi Gallery (NYC), arguably known as one of the most prominent established galleries dedicated to emerging artists.

Joe Amrhein is the co-owner/director of Pierogi Gallery (NYC) and The Boiler (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and Susan Swenson is co-owner of Pierogi Gallery and co-founder and editor of Pierogi Press.

Submissions are due by May 16, 2018.

Amanda Innes, the Westport Arts Center’s Executive Director, stated, “Over the years, we have had the pleasure of working with notable museum curators, art critics, and gallerists. This year, we have invited our friends from Pierogi Gallery – Joe Amrhein and Susan Swenson – and we couldn’t be happier to bring them to Westport. We all are eager to see the exhibition come together under their direction.”

“Within the world of contemporary art dealers, Joe and Susan stand out for their dedication to representing mid-career and emerging artists. As a result of their commitment to working artists, Pierogi’s loyal following of collectors and curators seek out their installations at Basel, Frieze, and The Armory art fairs, in addition to their gallery locations in Brooklyn or the Lower East Side,” she added.

The member exhibitions are one way in which the Arts Center celebrates the artistic talent and diversity of its artist members. Now in its twelfth year, the summer member exhibition is designed to discover and showcase new works of art by talented artists in the region, and also helps new artists discover the Westport Arts Center.

The summer member exhibition has historically featured esteemed jurors, including co-jurors Charlotte Strick, Art Editor of The Paris Review literary magazine and Claire Williams Martinez, former Chapter President of AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Design) Chicago, and co-founders of Strick&Williams, a multi-disciplinary design firm in 2017; Douglas Hyland, Former Director of the New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA) in New Britain, CT (2016); Richard Klein, Exhibitions Director of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT (2015).

Last year, the summer member exhibition (SELECTS 2017) generated a highly competitive pool of talent from across the nation, and only a select few were juried in to participate.

SELECTS 2018 will feature up to ten artists. You must be a member of the Westport Arts Center, or become a member, to be eligible for submission. The entry fee is $45. Painting, drawing, video, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, photography and mixed media are all eligible for submission. Full submission guidelines are available on westportartscenter.org.

The Arts Center will notify all artists on May 23, 2018. SELECTS 2018 will be on view beginning June 22. For any questions on eligibility, submission guidelines or the upcoming exhibition, please contact the Westport Arts Center at 203.222-7070 or visit westportartscenter.org.