Photographs tell stories when words fail and several locally exhibited photos will receive cash prizes later this month.
The Firelands Association for Visual Arts will announce the winners of its National Juried Biennial Photography Show on June 24, coinciding with the Oberlin community’s Chalk Walk.
The entered photographs are on display at FAVA’s gallery through Aug. 13.
“Photography is a really important art form,” said Firelands Association for Visual Arts Executive Director Kathleen Jackson. “It documents our history as humans and it’s really good at showing our personal perspective.”
After a national call for entries, the pool of 200 was narrowed to 35 works to be exhibited.
Judging by Anna E. Young, co-owner of the Kink Contemporary Gallery in Cleveland was completed in early June and winners will be announced at a 1 p.m., June 24, event.
Entries use a wide variety of processes from traditional darkroom printing to printing on metal or other materials to digital manipulation.
The diversity of techniques, subject matter and perspective, make photography a very personal art form, Jackson said.
“It also helps to convey really important information about you and what you choose to document and what techniques you use,” she added. “It’s a really diverse art form that can tell a lot about you as a person.”
Jackson emphasized the accessibility of the juried show.
Anyone can enter and sophisticated equipment isn’t needed.
Entries are submitted through a Call for Entries (CaFE) system used by art shows and competitions.
A different juror is hired each year and entries are exhibited for six to eight weeks at the Oberlin gallery.
Firelands Association for Visual Arts’ annual juried shows alternate between photography and quilting.
The juried quilt show, which will open in May 2024, is the second oldest quilt show in the country and has drawn as many as 1,500 people, Jackson said.
“We ask folks to push the boundaries of what a quilt is,” she said. “The entries are really unique and amazing art expressions.”
Entries for the quilt show will open this fall.
Meanwhile, Firelands Association for Visual Arts studios, classrooms and galleries will be abuzz with summer activities for all ages.
Camps for children from preschool to high school begin June 26.
Preschool is a new addition this year due to demand from area families.
Projects and materials vary but camps expose children to a myriad of art forms, techniques and tools, Jackson said.
“Kids have the opportunity to learn from different teachers,” she said. “They do really different projects that we do in regular classes.”
Camps culminate in a weekly art showcase for parents in partnership with Oberlin Public Library.
Camp activities also include partnerships with Allen Memorial Art Museum and the city of Oberlin Parks Department.
Classes at Firelands Association for Visual Arts run the gamut from traditional figure drawing techniques to unique processes specific to diverse cultures.
One recent example involved using rubber fish to make prints, a technique called gyotaku created by Japanese fishermen to document their catches.
“We have done a wide variety of things,” Jackson said, adding that Firelands Association for Visual Arts never closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
The lending library for larger tools like pottery wheels and the subscription boxes for families dealing with at-home schooling for the first time have ended.
However, many of the Firelands Association for Visual Arts classes remain available online.
“We focused on what we could do,” Jackson said. “We had some folks from really far away who got involved because of it.”
Jackson looks forward to the fall Member Show at Firelands Association for Visual Arts.
Anyone can become a member with prices starting at $20.
Members can submit up to two works, in any medium, and even put their art up for sale.
Firelands Association for Visual Arts offer something for almost everyone, she added.
Families with kids enjoy visiting as much as retirees and everyone in between is welcome.
“I feel like it’s an organization that appeals to a lot of people,” Jackson said. “There’s a lot happening in our building.
“We’re trying to do a lot of ‘front yard’ events to bring more people into the building.”
Firelands Association for Visual Arts is co-located in the New Union Center for the Arts (NUCA) along with MAD Factory, the Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra and the Oberlin Choristers Children’s Choir.
Learn more at favagallery.org.
