59th Annual Delta Exhibition includes local artists

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Arts Center’s most anticipated exhibition of the year, the 59th Annual Delta Exhibition, opens June 9. Delta Exhibition award winners will be announced June 8 at a special member and artist preview reception and lecture.

The deadline to register for Summer Quarter Museum School classes is June 11, and the summer quarter runs June 19 through Aug. 26.

Artists featured in the 59th Annual Delta Exhibition include Daniel Cassity and Gene Sparling, both of Hot Springs, and DebiLynn Fendley, of Arkadelphia.

“Every year, the Delta Exhibition gives Arkansas Arts Center patrons the opportunity to experience some of the Delta region’s most talented contemporary artists,” said Todd Herman, executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center.

The Delta Exhibition was founded in 1958 to feature contemporary work by artists born in or currently living in Arkansas and bordering states. Today, the Annual Delta Exhibition, which has grown to encompass works in all media, is a showcase for the dynamic vision of the artists of the Mississippi Delta region.

Betsy Bradley, director of the Mississippi Museum of Art, is the juror for the 59th Annual Delta Exhibition. As director of the Mississippi Museum of Art, Bradley oversees the Museum in Jackson, which has 30 affiliates statewide. The institution has seen significant growth during her tenure, including two capital campaigns, a completely renovated facility, creation of The Art Garden, and quadrupled participation in museum programming. Committed to making the museum relevant to its immediate community, Bradley works in partnership with many local cultural institutions, social services, and history organizations to create opportunities for collaborations that benefit the entire community.

Bradley selected 73 artworks by 57 artists representing seven states. They were chosen out of 1,120 entries by 497 artists. She will assign a $2,500 Grand Award and two $750 Delta Awards. A $250 Contemporaries Delta Award will be selected by the Contemporaries, an auxiliary membership group of the Arkansas Arts Center.

The 59th Annual Delta Exhibition is sponsored by Isabel and John Ed Anthony, Lisenne Rockefeller, Ginanne Graves Long, Dianne and Bobby Tucker, AAC Contemporaries and Edafio Technology Partners. The Grand Award is supported by The John William Linn Endowment Fund. The exhibition is supported by the Andre Simon Memorial Trust in memory of everyone who has died of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Visit http://www.arkansasartscenter.org or call 501-372-4000 for more information.