2024 Regional Arts Competition & Exhibition
The Festival 2024 Regional Arts Exhibition is open through June 14th in the DeVos Place Skywalk in Grand Rapids. More than $17,000 in prizes were awarded and will be presented to Artists on Calder Stage on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
A total of 363 pieces were chosen from 586 entries to be in this Exhibition.
Festival Regional Arts Committee members are dedicated to enhancing the lives of West Michigan Artists. One way is by raising sponsorships for multiple Awards each year. Each of the cash awards goes to the artist of the piece selected for the award. This year we have commitments of over $17,000 for Awards, the largest amount we have ever raised.
If you would like to sponsor an award for Festival 2025, you can follow this link to submit it online.
This year’s visual Arts Exhibition includes both the Regional arts Exhibition and the Youth Arts Exhibition. The exhibit is on display throughout Festival 2024 at the DeVos Place Convention Center and is sponsored by the GVSU Department of Visual and Media Arts and GVSU Art Gallery.
Reception:
Wednesday, June 5th from 5-7pm on the Skywalk level at DeVos Place Convention Center.
Show Viewing:
May 12 thru June 15th from 8:00 am – 6:00 pm daily.
Interested in viewing or purchasing the pieces from the exhibition? Visit our online gallery.
Check back soon for the winning artists and titles of their work.
2024 RAE Awards
| Award | Amount | Artist | RAE # | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christina Marie Bivins Memorial | $1,000.00 | Kathleen Ford | Body of Work | |
| Elmer and Rita Zinn Memorial | $200.00 | John Andersen | 504 | In the Gloaming |
| Jim Zinn Memorial | $200.00 | Cyn Tennant | 91 | Blood Brothers |
| Little Kathy Memorial | $200.00 | Andrew Burton | 75 | Grace |
| Vinecroft Studios | $200.00 | Edd Kloote | 246 | Petulant |
| J. Russell Award for Photographic Excellence | $250.00 | Tim Motley | 10 | Hanging On |
| Varineau Family Award | $150.00 | Randy Nyhof | 475 | Grand River Reflections in Black and White Infrared |
| Van Maarseveen/Timermanis | $200.00 | Dale Kenel | 484 | Alpine Party |
| Louis and Margaret Vander Have Memorial | $100.00 | Elizabeth Iorio | 173 | Macatawa |
| Bob Goudzwaard Memorial Award | $100.00 | Paula Clark | 32 | Going My Own Way |
| Martha Despres Memorial | $200.00 | David Kerley | 276 | A Star in Somebody Else's Sky |
| Edgar and Wendy Marty Photography Award | $100.00 | Elliot Fink | 581 | Cora |
| William John Heule Memorial | $250.00 | David Vail | 60 | Fish Town |
| Ron denBroeder Memorial Woodturning Award | $200.00 | Leonard Bosma | 36 | Copper Stem Burl Flower in Vase on Pedestal |
| West Michigan Potters Guild Award for Ceramics | $250.00 | |||
| The Brower Family Memorial Award | $200.00 | Tony Wright | 334 | Shadow |
| The Brower Family Memorial Award | $200.00 | Andrew Burton | 75 | Grace |
| Michael B. Handlin/Party Down Music Memorial Award | $200.00 | Derrick Hollowell | 582 | Sound the Horn/ Louis Armstrong |
| Gordy Siggins Memorial Award | $200.00 | Barbara Thorne | 301 | Vintage Trike |
| Grand Valley Artists Award | $200.00 | Roger Timermanis | 163 | Fresh Cut |
| Grand Valley Artists Photography Group Award | $200.00 | Kris Brown | 438 | Snow Fence and Shadows |
| WD8KPR Memorial Award | $200.00 | Lee Ann Fram | 55 | Rainy Day |
| Jamie Lynne Kloote Memorial Award | $100.00 | Stacey Butler | 287 | I'm Still Here |
| The O’Rourke Family Award | $200.00 | Susan Luce | 502 | Fire & Ice |
| John S. Hyatt Image Award | $100.00 | Charlotte Ambrose | 130 | Celebrating the Last Calder Stage Crescendo in 2023 |
| John S. Hyatt Image Award | $100.00 | Jerry Berta | 445 | Clay Basket Form |
| John S. Hyatt Image Award | $100.00 | Ricardo Tavarez | 388 | Give Us Dignity |
| Grand Valley State University Art Galleries Purchase Award | $1,500.00 | Alfield Reeves | 96 | The Souls of Black Folks |
| Shazam Award by Teddy | $250.00 | Evie Carrier | 71 | Canopy of Gold |
| 3D Juror Award | $300.00 | Jamey Limbers | 53 | Pit-fired Vessel |
| 3D Juror Award | $150.00 | Mike Taylor | 286 | Lobby Vase |
| 3D Juror Award | $75.00 | Mary Reusch | 269 | Cigar Box of Orange Frilly Mushrooms |
| 3D Juror Award | $75.00 | Mary Lamson-Burke | 203 | Detritus |
| 2D Juror Award | $300.00 | Karin Nelson | 434 | The Settlers |
| 2D Juror Award | $200.00 | Aidean Gardner | 574 | Eye Spy |
| 2D Juror Award | $100.00 | Judith Blank | 564 | Transcendence |
| Photography Juror Award | $150.00 | Cari Povenz | 470 | Crystal Lake Fog |
| Photography Juror Award | $150.00 | Randy Nyhof | 476 | Hay Bale Harvest Afternoon |
| Photography Juror Award | $150.00 | Richard Aardsma | 137 | Still Life |
| Photography Juror Award | $150.00 | Michael Koole | 262 | Night on the Grand |
| Illustration Juror Award | $200.00 | M Joy Lemon | 522 | Conch Shell |
| Illustration Juror Award | $200.00 | Marty Klar | 8 | Wil |
| Illustration Juror Award | $100.00 | Matt Schenk | 251 | Figure 299 |
| Illustration Juror Award | $100.00 | Kathleen Kallen | 374 | MPOV She Was A Mother Too |
| Sixth Street Bridge Award any media | $250.00 | Leon Lou | 100 | 6th Street Bridge at Solar Eclipse |
| Sixth Street Bridge Award any media | $250.00 | Russell Barneveld | 83 | Sixth Street Reflections |
| Sixth Street Bridge Award any media | $250.00 | Richard Deming Jr | 399 | Night Walk |
| Sixth Street Bridge Award any media | $250.00 | Dianne Carroll Burdick | 510 | Memories From Sixth Street Bridge |
| Grand Rapids Camera Club Award | $200.00 | Richard Aardsma | 137 | Still Life |
| Grand River Art Warner Norcross & Judd LLP Award | $200.00 | Russell Barneveld | 84 | Blue Hour on the River |
| Grand River Art Warner Norcross & Judd LLP Award | $200.00 | Michael Koole | 262 | Night on the Grand |
| Grand River Art Warner Norcross & Judd LLP Award | $200.00 | Annemarie Biernacki | 431 | Flood, Fog and Reflection on the Grand River |
| Grand River Art Warner Norcross & Judd LLP Award | $200.00 | Colleen O'Rourke | 403 | The Shore |
| Grand River Art Warner Norcross & Judd LLP Award | $200.00 | Richard Deming Jr | 400 | Reflections Over the Grand River |
| Miller Johnson Purchase Award Minimum | $500.00 | Carole Hunnes-Nielsen | 76 | Through The Trees |
| City of Grand Rapids Purchase Award Minimum | $500.00 | Ryan Crawley | 29 | Abstract Conversations 2 |
| Grand Valley State University Art Galleries Purchase Award | $1,500.00 | Alfield Reeves | 96 | The Souls of Black Folks |
| County of Kent Purchase Award Minimum | $500.00 | Lee Ann Frame | 56 | Audrey's Stone Path |
| Progressive Systems, Inc Artistic Excellence Award | $500.00 | Larry Blovits | 332 | River of Dreams |
| Jane P. Tobie Award | $200.00 | Ricardo Tavarez | 388 | Give Us Dignity |
| The William Randolph Brown Honorary Award: Sponsored by Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives | $200.00 | Elaine Hannink | 415 | Exaltation |
| Honorary CO-Chair George Bayard Award | $200.00 | Esan Sommersell | 583 | Du Feels |
| Honorary CO-Chair Shelley Irwin Award | $200.00 | George Peebles | 45 | Listen to the Wind Blow |
| Grand Rapids Artists Bureau Award | $200.00 | Tatsuki Hakoyama | 381 | Time and Time Again in Vain |
| In Memory of Don Pangborn for Landscape Painting | $200.00 | Wietze Adema | 219 | Bounty Space |
| In Memory of Don Pangborn for Figurative Sculpture | $200.00 | Rusmel Mora | 538 | En Pointe |
| PhotoJournalism Award | $200.00 | Leslie Victor | 211 | Portland, MI |
| Nutcase Vegan Celebrates Glorifying Water | $200.00 | Lynn Anderson | 265 | Solitude |
| LowellArts Award | $100.00 | Marjolein Moser | 495 | A Forgotten Friend |
| LowellArts Award | $100.00 | Patrick Seanor | 463 | Seated Figure Leaning Forward |
| LowellArts Award | $100.00 | Alynn Guerra | 416 | Sprawl |
| LowellArts Award | $100.00 | Lee Ann Frame | 56 | Audrey's Stone Path |
| LowellArts Award | $100.00 | Karin Nelson | 435 | Verdant Abandon |
| LowellArts Award | $100.00 | Talon Crowne | 517 | Dorian |
| LowellArts Award | $100.00 | Sam Brower | 532 | Hands |
| LowellArts Award | $100.00 | Annemarie Biernacki | 429 | Trap Door |
| LowellArts Award | $100.00 | Alfield Reeves | 96 | The Souls of Black Folks |
| LowellArts Award | $100.00 | Milt Klingensmith | 397 | Fenwick Road After the Storm |
| Jim Markle Memorial Award | $200.00 | Diane Hayworth | 239 | Reflected Radiance |
| Your GRAAMA's Choice Award sponsored by the Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives | $200.00 | Catherine McClung | 42 | The Soul That Yearns |
| Crop Marks Award | 50 printed copies |
Joshua Risner
Christina Marie Bivins Memorial Award
Each year the Christina Marie Bivins Memorial Award is given to an artist who has shown dedication to their art and to the Festival Regional Arts Competition and Exhibition. It is not given for a piece that was entered, but to the artist.
The Festival 2020 recipient was to Joshua Risner. You can view his work at www.joshuaadamart.com
Festival 2024 Jurors
Jim Johnson
2-D, Painting, Drawing, Prints
I was raised in Grand Rapids and educated at Kendall College and the Art Institute of Chicago. After serving in the Navy I returned to Grand Rapids and began a thirty year career in commercial Illustration. I began messing around with watercolors in 1984 to get away from the restrictions of my commercial art business and found that painting from life was spontaneous, intense and emotional. And I’ve never tired of it. In 2021 The Michigan Watercolor Society inducted me as a signatory member. I’ve been a long time member of Grand Valley Artists and currently serve as Gallery Director.
Madeline Kaczmarczyk
3D and Multi-media
Madeline Kaczmarczyk has been a full-time artist in Rockford Mi sharing a studio with her husband, Jerry Berta. She concurrently was an Adjunct Professor of Ceramics for 22 years at Aquinas College. Most recently her work was chosen by the Kalamazoo Institute of Art as part of their permanent collections. She has received awards from the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, The Muskegon Museum of Art, and The Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts as well national exhibitions. Clay mosaic commission pieces locally include the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, Fountain Street Church, The Cook Art center as well as the Kate Pew Walters Center Lobby at Indian Trails camp. Kaczmarczyk has shown her work at numerous national exhibitions and one person shows. Articles include Ceramics Monthly magazine (cover-1992) and Pottery Making Illustrated (2022-Sept. and Oct. issue.)
Stone Peng
Photography, Digital Photomontage
Stone Peng, born in Taiwan, is a Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA-based national and international award-winning photographer. Stone received his MS degree at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI and his BA degree at Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Awards include 1st prize at the Ray and Nancy Loeschner Art competition 2020, 2nd place at the 2019 and 2021 and 3rd place at 2022 Black and White Spider Awards, 3rd place at the 2020 International Color Awards, 3rd place at Aperture 2020, 2nd place at 2022 Great Northern Art Explosion, 3rd place at 140th National Open Juried Exhibition 2020, Gold Medal at 2022 Moscow International Foto Award, Merit Award at 2021 National Photography Show, Gold Medal at 2019 Budapest International Foto Award, Bronze Medal at Emerald Art 2018, 4th place at West Michigan Area show 2017, 3rd place at 2022 NCCA-Artsplace Statewide Photography Competition and over 70 others. I have exhibited my photos in 30 different states in the USA and have been included in numerous publications.
For more details, go to www.stonepeng.com.
Piper Adonya
Illustration, Digitally Created Art, Comic Art, Anime, Graphic Novels
Piper uses illustration and design to educate, inspire conversation, and make complex social justice-related issues easier to comprehend and work through. She is continually exploring ways to incorporate more of her hand-carved prints into digital concept art and costume design and is passionate about everyone seeing themselves reflected in art. As the lead designer for the 2023 Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens campaign, she saw her illustrations wrapped on a Lexus RX350 Luxury SUV. Piper is an ArtPrize, International Serious Play, and Eclipse award winner, and has designed for Founders Brewing Company, Condado, Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance, and—in collaboration with 9B Collective—Black Barbie A Documentary, recently acquired by Netflix and Shondaland.
Festival of the Arts thanks LowellArts for hosting the 2024 Regional Arts Exhibition Awards Show at the LowellArts Gallery.