Eight Finalists for Bethesda Painting Awards Announced

Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District selected eight painters as finalists for the Bethesda Painting Awards. Nearly 300 artists from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. submitted work to the 15th annual juried competition that honors regional painters. The work of the eight finalists will be on display from June 5 through June 29 at Gallery B which is located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E in Bethesda.

The top prize winners will be announced and honored on Wednesday, June 5 at a private reception held at Gallery B. The Best in Show winner will be awarded $10,000, second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000.

The artists selected as finalists are:

• Mary Anne Arntzen – Baltimore, Md.
• Taha Heydari – Baltimore, Md.
• Lillian Bayley Hoover – Baltimore, Md.
• Gina Gwen Palacios – Baltimore, Md.
• Erin Raedeke – Montgomery Village, Md.
• W.C. Richardson – University Park, Md.
• Nicole Santiago – Williamsburg, Va.
• McKinley Wallace III – Baltimore, Md.

Read the artists biographies, here.

Photos courtesy Bethesda Urban Partnership

The public is invited to an opening reception on Friday, June 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. Gallery B is located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E in downtown Bethesda. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon-6 p.m.

A panel of three jurors evaluated the submitted artwork to choose the eight finalists. Thee three jurors include Kyle Hackett, Professor of Studio Art, American University, and the 2014 Bethesda Painting Awards Winner; Sue Johnson,Professor of Art, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Susan Zurbrigg, Painting and Drawing Area Head, Professor of Art, James Madison University.

The Bethesda Painting Awards was established by local business owner Carol Trawick in 2005. 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 Maryland State Arts Council, Strathmore, Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. and founder of The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards.

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