Baltimore Artist Wins Bethesda's Trawick Prize, Cash

BETHESDA, MD – Established in 2003, the Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards named its 2018 winners Thursday, among them Baltimore, Takoma Park and DC natives.

The competition, set in motion by longtime activist Carol Trawick, has, to date, awarded $220,000 in prize money and has exhibited the work of more than 135 regional artists.

This year, the "Best in Show" award and a $10,000 prize went to Caroline Hatfield of Baltimore. Coming in at a tight second was Takoma Park's Nicole Salimbene, who took home a $2,000 prize. Upon Washington DC's Timothy Makepeace was bestowed the third place award and a $1,000 prize.

Hatfield explores concepts of utopia and science fiction through her interdisciplinary art practice, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. said in a press release. Her studio practice utilizes methods of sculpture, installation, photography and drawing to investigate landscape.

Hatfield’s sculptural landscapes are composed of industrial relics, geological formations and mutable material which obscure boundaries and accumulate into form. She has had solo exhibits at Towson University in Towson, Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg,, La Bodega Gallery in Baltimore and Small Hall Gallery in Knoxville, TN. Most recently she had a solo exhibit at The Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. Now based in Baltimore, Hatfield earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Tennessee and her Master of Fine Arts in interdisciplinary studio art from Towson University.

Entries were juried by Christopher Bedford, Director of The Baltimore Museum of Art; Sukjin Choi, Head of Ceramics and Associate Professor of Art at James Madison University; and Valerie Fletcher, Independent Art Historian and Senior Curator Emerita at the Hirshhorn Museum.

2018 Trawick Prize Finalists

• Lori Anne Boocks, Germantown, MD
• Clay Dunklin, Laurel, MD
• Mary Early, Washington, D.C.
• Jay Gould, Baltimore, MD
• Caroline Hatfield, Baltimore, MD
• Phaan Howng, Baltimore, MD
• Timothy Makepeace, Washington, D.C.
• Nicole Salimbene, Takoma Park, MD

A former teacher and entrepreneur, Trawick remains engaged in a range of philanthropic causes through the Foundation, which was established to assist health and human services and arts non-profits in Montgomery County. The Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation has awarded grants to more than 90 nonprofits.

The work of the finalists will be on exhibit at Gallery B, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, until Sept. 29. The public opening reception will be Friday, Sept. 14 from 6-8 p.m. Gallery hours for the duration of the exhibit are Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 6 p.m.

Established by Montgomery County in 1994, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. (BUP) is a downtown management organization that markets and maintains downtown Bethesda. The BUP team works in marketing, maintenance, transportation and administration to produce cultural events and community festivals and attend to landscaping and maintenance needs. BUP also manages Bethesda Transportation Solutions (BTS), the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, and the Bethesda Circulator as well as the non-profit art spaces, Gallery B and Studio B. For a closer look, please visit www.bethesda.org.

For more information, please visit www.bethesda.org or call 301-215-6660.

Image courtesy of Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards