Artwork by 2007 Southern Tier Biennial artists Amy Powers (2007 Best of Show winner), Nick Bontorno, and Sarah Weekley.
The Southern Tier Biennial
For the past five years, the Southern Tier Biennial (STB) has offered an exceptional opportunity to enter a juried contemporary art competition and exhibition to artist of the eight counties of New York State’s Southern Tier. The 2005 and 2007 shows were tremendous successes, with hundreds of artists entering, creating shows that showcased the vitality and diversity of contemporary art in the region. In planning the 2009 exhibition, the STB committee furthered the mission of the show by extending the professional development workshops into multiple locations and by maintaining a groundbreaking package for the artist named Best of Show. The Southern Tier Biennial also welcomes Jamestown Community College as a collaborating partner, and as a second exhibition site on the Olean, NY campus. This year’s jurors will be Holly E. Hughes, Associate Curator at the Albright Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY and Leonard Urso, the Mowris Mulligan Endowed Chair and Distinguished Professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. This project is a collaboration among the Cattaraugus County Arts Council, Olean Public Library, the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation, and now, Jamestown Community College.
If you would like a paper copy of the prospectus, please send us an email with your mailing address or a note requesting a prospectus via email. As soon as it’s available, we’ll send it right out.
Eligibility
Artists (emerging, amateur, and professional), ages sixteen and up, are invited to enter. Work must not be completed under instruction.
Calendar
· October 25, 2008: Professional Development Workshop in Salamanca, NY and November 1, 2008 in Elmira, NY presented by professional photographer Woody Packard, instructor at RIT and Alfred University
· December 2008: Prospectus distributed and available online
· February 14, 2009: Deadline to apply
· March 16, 2009: Notification mailed. Acceptance letters will include information on the exhibition opening and at which exhibition site—Olean Public Library Gallery or Jamestown Community College--work will be shown.
· April 27, 2009: Deadline for receipt of accepted work which is shipped
· April 27-28, 2009: Deadline for receipt of accepted work which is hand delivered
· May 9, 2009: Opening reception and awards ceremony at Olean Public Library Gallery 3:00pm; Reception and celebration 5:00pm at Jamestown Community College
· June 20, 2009: Final day of exhibition
· June 29-July 2, 2009: Deadline to pick up work
· July 10, 2009: Return shipping completed
Awards and Stipends
For the 2009 Southern Tier Biennial, we are pleased to be able to present each artist accepted into the show with a $100 stipend to help allay costs associated with travel, shipping, and production. In addition, five cash awards totaling $3,000 will be presented: $500 for Best of Category in each of four categories and $1,000 to the Best of Show winner.
The Best of Show winner will also be presented with a solo show in spring of 2010 at the Olean Public Library Gallery with a four color catalog, a $1,000 Honorarium, up to $1,000 for professional development (workshops, training, etc.), and up to $1,000 for show expenses (framing, displays, etc.). Among the project’s benefits to accepted artists is reproduction of their work in a full-color catalog. (CCAC retains the right to photograph and reproduce works for purposes of documentation, publicity, and catalog publication.) All artists who enter the competition will receive one copy of the catalog. Accepted artists will receive five copies. Catalogs will be offered free of charge to visitors at both exhibition sites.