‘FL3TCH3R Exhibit’ now accepting artist submissions for 2017 show(이스트테네시주립대학교)East Tennessee State University[이화여대 교환학생,외국대학편입]

‘FL3TCH3R Exhibit’ now accepting artist submissions for 2017 show(이스트테네시주립대학교)

East Tennessee State University[이화여대 교환학생,외국대학편입]

In its fifth year, “The FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social and Politically Engaged Art” will be on display at East Tennessee State University’s Reece Museum from Oct. 9 through Dec. 15. Directors of the 2017 exhibit have issued their call for entries, which is open through August 22.

New this year is an audio/sound category. Other categories include ceramics, digital, fiber, glass, graphic design, jewelry/metals, mixed media (2D), mixed media (3D), painting, performance/installation (via video), photography, printmaking, sculpture, video/film and other.

A non-refundable fee of $40 is required for submission of up to three entries. Artists may submit entries in excess of three for an additional $10 per artwork/title. Artists should submit entries online or consult the prospectus, which can be found at FL3TCH3Rexhibit.com/downloads/prospectus.pdf. The extended deadline, with an additional fee, is Aug. 31.

The exhibit offers cash prizes for a Best of Show Award, two Awards of Excellence, the Reece Museum Award and the Sammie L. Nicely Appalachian Artist Award, in memory of Nicely, who was artist-in-residence at Reece Museum in 2014 and 2015 and died in May 2015. 

Entries for the 2017 “FL3TCH3R Exhibit” will be selected by illustrator/painter Anita Kunz, a visual artist whose work has made her one of The National Post’s 50 most influential women in Canada and whose magazine covers for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Time, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, Vanity Fair and Fortune, and jacket covers for more than 50 books, have reached readers around the world.

Kunz’s magazine covers have illustrated the arts, politics and politicians, the military, athletics, religion, the environment, social issues and finance, as well as celebrities, including Michael Jackson, John Belushi, Woody Allen and Mike Tyson, and leaders such as Marion Barry, Bill Clinton, George Bush and Donald Trump.

“We are very pleased and excited to announce Anita Kunz as our 2017 juror,” said Barbara Dyer, co-founder and co-director of the annual exhibit. “She is an internationally renowned artist and illustrator. We believe she will bring a diverse perspective to the selection process, and her own work certainly speaks of her interest in and grasp of social and political issues worldwide.”

Established in memory of Barbara and Wayne Dyer’s son, Fletcher, a BFA senior at ETSU who passed away in 2009 in a motorcycle accident, the “FL3TCH3R” international juried exhibit focuses on work with strong social and/or political content. Exhibitentries “should reflect current issues that affect contemporary culture and investigate societal and political concerns,” the exhibit website states.

In addition to providing an opportunity for socially relevant expression, the “FL3TCH3R Exhibit” supports the annual Fletcher H. Dyer Memorial Scholarship for an ETSU Art and Design student.

“The exhibit was created to honor the legacy of our son, who was passionate about incorporating social and political concerns as commentary in his artwork,” said co-founder and co-director Wayne Dyer, a faculty member in Art and Design at ETSU. “Fletcher wrote in a high school essay: ‘I might attempt to right political, social and religious wrongs by showing the rest of society a glimpse of how I feel about serious issues in the world. Hopefully the awareness that I can help create will spark an interest in a movement that others will follow.’”

Interest has indeed been sparked. In the four years of the exhibit, nearly 1,500 entries have been considered from 17 countries, including the United States.

“Each year, we think the exhibit is the best yet, but we find that the following exhibit is extraordinary in its own right,” Barbara Dyer said.