Artists from throughout the Three Rivers Edition coverage area will be featured at the fifth annual Delta Visual Arts Show on Saturday in downtown Newport. The event is sponsored by the Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts.
The show will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a reception from 4-6.
This year’s show features 148 artists from five states and 60 Arkansas communities, featuring primarily artists who grew up in the Delta, live or have lived in the Delta or who produce Delta-themed work. The visual arts cover a broad range, including pottery, painting, jewelry and sculpture.
“The show has really grown over the last few years,” said Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Newport Economic Development Commission, one of the show’s sponsors. “We started with 17 artists in 2009 located in one building. This year, we will have 148 artists in three buildings and three tents, plus a lot of auxiliary activities.”
Local participating artists include Beth Ball, Tinyla Beckles, Debra Bennett, Julia Brand, Kay Brand, Natalie Curtner, Adralyn Elliott, Jeff Ellis, Kristi Henderson, Pete Jiles, Cheryl Mauldin, John Minor, Cody Newman, the Newport High School Art Club, Jessica Scroggins, Donald E. Smith Jr., Barbara Smock, Brenda Starks, Judy Tubbs and Ginger Willis, all of Newport; and Martha Bartz, Roger Bartz and Brian Hickey, all of Searcy.
Also showing works are Kevin Bell of El Paso; Dustyn Bork, Patricia Boylan, Sabina Burnett, Carly Dahl, Scott Dirksen and Paige Messner Dirksen, all of Batesville; Carla Carlton of Beebe; Dalton Carpenter of Brockwell; Sharon Chisholm of Mountain View; Jesse Clark of Pleasant Plains; Patti Lynn Dunlap, Beth Fern, Bobbie Hanson, Kaye D. Milligan and Diana Reidling, all of Cherokee Village; and Janet Foster, Mary Shelton and Marty Smith, all of Cabot.
Other participants include Suzanne Fry of Hardy; Connie Gates and Tara Gates, both of Tuckerman; Linda Gonzalez of Williford; Jaclyn Holland and Tammey Ring, both of Heber Springs; Jayme Huff of McCrory; A. Gordon Jackson of Melbourne; Aline Cantrell McCracken of Concord; Laura McNerney and Alli Roberts, both of Franklin; Carla Quataert and Michael Quataert, both of Salem; Danny Ramsey and Renee Ramsey, both of Floral; Jessica Rutledge-Sasak of Jacksonville; Sheila Skinner of Bradford; Erica Sommer of Horseshoe Bend; and Judy Tubbs of Newark.
The show will be held at the Iron Mountain Train Depot on Front Street, the Newport Business Resource Center on Hazel Street, the old Post Office on Hazel Street and in three tents that will serve as art galleries.
“Artists will have their work on display, and visitors will be able to meet the artists, as well as purchase pieces,” Chadwell said. “This is a unique opportunity to own an original piece of art and to understand how the artist produced the piece.”
Several artists will be working at their booths during the show. There will also be workshops throughout the day.
Featured again this year will be the Art Bucks Door Prizes during the show. Three times during the day, drawings will be held for $100 to be spent toward the purchase of art from the show. During the evening reception, an additional drawing for $200 in art bucks will be held. You must be present during the drawings to win.
The Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts will also host the second annual Children of the Delta Youth Art Contest in connection with the fifth annual Delta Visual Arts Show. Awards will be given in four categories: pre-kindergarten and kindergarten; first and second grades; third and fourth grades; and fifth and sixth grades.
The first This Is the Delta Art Show for adults who are participating in the show will be held this year. Awards will be given in painting, sculpture, photography, pottery, printmaking, mixed media and jewelry. The winners, including first, second and third place in each category; and first, second and third Best of Show will be announced at 9 a.m. Saturday. All entries will remain on display in the Old First National Bank Building (the John Minor Building) throughout the show.
The W.A. Billingsley Jackson County Library will feature the works of winners of the Arkansas Arts Center’s 51st annual Young Artists Contest. The traveling exhibit will have prize-winning works of young Arkansas students from kindergartners through 12th-graders. The library will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The traveling exhibit is a cooperative project of the Arkansas Arts Center and the Arkansas Department of Education.
Chadwell said the Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts project is a joint project of the Iron Mountain Regional Arts Council, the Downtown Revitalization and Improvement Volunteer Effort (DRIVE), the city of Newport, the Newport Economic Development Commission, Merchants and Planters Bank, Suddenlink Communications and hundreds of local volunteers. The Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock facilitated the development of the show. Funding for advertising is supplied through the Ozark Gateway Tourist Council.
For more information on the Delta Visual Arts Show, contact Chadwell at (870) 503-0793 or director@newportaredc.org.