ninth annual artists on the rise: juried teen exhibition

April 5–May 2, 2021

Montpelier Arts Center strives to foster a positive, creative environment in which young and emerging artists realize their full potential as creative individuals. Every year Montpelier spotlights the talents of teen visual artists (ages 13-18) from the Washington metropolitan area. At the virtual reception, honorable mentions and cash prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third places.

Alizah Lathrop: Encroaching Infringement 

April 5–May 30, 2021

Blending painting and sculpture, Alizah Lathrop recontextualizes notions of decoration and personal family struggles. Her work wavers between a fragile discomfort and a sense of calm—a search for peace in the midst of destruction.

Irene Sylvester: Off the Wall

April 5–May 2, 2021

Irene Sylvester is a longtime resident artist and instructor of collage at Montpelier Arts Center. Sylvester's love to travel-inspired Off the Wall, where she explored a variety of mediums. From painted rice paper shaped into irregular wrinkled forms to represent the shape of rocks and mountains to textiles that express human presence in social graces, style, and classic beauty. There are underlying threads throughout Sylvester's artistic endeavors, and in Off the Wall, one will see a small selection of her continued experimentation. 

Julie Polt: Wild Goose Chase

May 8–30, 2021

The exhibition Wild Goose Chase by Julie Polt is inspired by the constant movement in nature and her experimentation with materials to capture a moment. This exhibition explores motion and shows expressive movement as a characteristic of her current body of work.

52^nd annual laurel art guild juried exhibition

May 8–30, 2021

Organized by the Laurel Art Guild, this annual exhibit is juried by a regional professional and showcases works by artists ages 18 and older who live in the Washington metropolitan area and surrounding states. The exhibit includes paintings, drawings, photographs, wall-hung sculptures, collages, and more. This year will be the 52^nd-anniversary exhibit. Cash prizes will be awarded for first, second, and third places and three merit awards. Get involved in your local arts activities and enjoy the support and camaraderie of your fellow artists. Find more information at www.laurelartguild.org.

40^th annual invitational sculpture exhibition

corrie parks: uncanny bodies

June 11–August 1, 2021

Corrie Francis Parks searches for life among the inanimate, endowing tiny grains of sand with their own autonomy. Drawing from the wondrous explorations of early micro cinematography, Uncanny Bodies transforms the gallery into an intricately constructed bioscope, accentuating the significance of the insignificant.

JANET MATTHEWS: TANGLED PROJECT

June 11–August 1, 2021

Janet Matthews explores the relationship of nature to healing. While recovering from a medical event, she began photographing the environment; the images became a meditation on existence. These photographs of tangled trees and vines are digital pigment prints on Japanese Kozo paper with mixed media.

Writing Competition: All Our Various Voices 

Montpelier Arts Center is seeking original and unpublished submissions for All Our Various Voices, an anthology celebrating the rich diversity of personal or family stories of immigration from writers who are 18 years of age and older and reside in Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia.  

Historically, America is a land of immigrants from other countries, across the continent, from the rural south to urban areas, or from agrarian to city locations. Each shift embodies loss, adjustment, fear, joy, and requires new perspectives for survival and success. Tell us your stories in poetry or prose. Selected contributors will receive a free copy. 

Dr. Karen Arnold, former poet-in-residence at Montpelier Arts Center, where she taught creative writing workshops to children and adults and edited an anthology of their poetry reading series, is the juror. The juror will award prizes that will be announced at the public reading in October 2021. Awards will be given for First Place ($200), Second Place ($150), Third Place ($100), and two Honorable Mentions ($50 each).

• Learn more and submit your work here!
• Submission Deadline: May 7, 2021

For more information contact Montpelier Arts Center at 301-377-7800 or via email.