This February, a wide variety of local art is at the Center for the Arts.
In the main gallery this month will be Paul Brent’s 4th Grade Endangered Species Art Competition.
Brent’s art contest is in its 30th year. Every year, 4th graders across Bay County learn about an endangered species in Florida and work with their art teacher to create a project featuring that animal. Brent then judges the contest entries and chooses winners from each school, a best-in-show school project and artist. This year, the theme is the Little Blue Heron.
“This is one of our favorite annual exhibits to host,” said Jayson Kretzer, executive director of Bay Arts Alliance. “It’s a wonderful initiative that combines art and science in a beautiful and effective way. And it’s been a tradition in Bay County schools for so long that we’re starting to see second generations come show their art on our walls just like their parents before them!”
The awards ceremony for the Endangered Species Art Competition will be held in the main gallery on Saturday, February 12, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Paul Brent and other guests will announce and award the winners.
The Miller Gallery will be featuring work by local photographer Mary Rimmel. This is Mary’s first solo show, but you may recognize her work that has been part of the F/STOP competition at the Center for the Arts for the past three years. In 2020, she won first place in the landscape and architecture categories and in 2021, she won first place in the landscape category.
Rimmel is a “mostly” self-taught artist who has been practicing photography for approximately 22 years. When asked what inspires her art, she states, “The world around me… I love taking pictures of nature and landscapes, but also the beautiful or interesting things that people create within it.” You can expect to see “a little bit of everything,” as Mary describes her exhibition, with photographs of wildlife, nature, landscapes, architecture, and abstracts included in the show.
The cafe will feature the unique work of Christopher Brown and his use of one experimental medium – beeswax.
Brown came into his current style of artwork in his last two years of undergraduate studies and states he has always had an interest in experimental mediums of art. When asked how he came to develop this technique of accreting wax over time to form his art pieces, Christopher responded, “I was considering how best to represent some philosophical-theological concepts that I was intrigued with, and ended up landing on wax as the best way of developing that idea.”
Christopher’s work is inspired by the concept of God’s providence, as well as themes related to ecology and nature. “I’m excited to see visitors’ reactions to Christopher’s pieces, it’s always exciting to see the use of unconventional mediums” stated exhibitions coordinator, Anastasia Dengerud.
In celebration of Black History Month, artwork by black artists that are a part of the Center’s permanent collection will be on display in the main hallway along with history of the artist and the piece.
An opening reception will be held Friday, February 11, from 5-7 p.m. Join us for complimentary wine, hors d’oeuvres, and an opportunity to meet the exhibiting artists.
The Center for the Arts is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
