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PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release
October 1, 2016
Contact: Sharon Gillberg, communications director
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5th annual Akron Art Prize results announced
$16,000 in cash prizes awarded at finale event at the Akron Art Museum
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(Akron, Ohio) - J David Norton is the grand prize winner of the 5th annual Akron Art Prize. The annual Downtown Akron art experience, sponsored
by The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, ran from Sept 3. to Oct. 1. For the grand prize, Norton receives a $5,000 and the honor of having his winning artwork on display in the Akron Art Museum for one month. He is also awarded Artists' Choice and selected as a juried winner by nationally known artist, Woodrow Nash.
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| Blue Woods by J David Norton |
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Norton's winning submission entitled
Blue Woods is a 3D piece composed of multiple layers of clear sheet glass, colored crushed glass called frit and torch formed strings of glass. It includes LED back lighting.
Norton's intention in glass is to create
imagery that is more about emotion than reality. He wants the viewer to feel as if they could cross a threshold into another place and linger there awhile, escaping the moment. He uses a torch to form strings of glass to include in the compositions. His creations are all glass with no paint involved. The artwork undergoes multiple kiln firings, with repeated applications of sheet glass, frit and stringers. The final result is a one inch thick slab of glass, with a 3-dimensional effect.
More than 200 artists entered Akron Art Prize and all entries were displayed at Summit Artspace.
The finale reception was held at the Akron Art Museum on Oct. 1.
For the 5th annual event, prize levels were restructured with the creation of separate categories for 2D and 3D, as well as the addition of juried prizes.
2D first runner up is Shane Wynn for Beekeeper ($2,000), 2D second runner up is Eileen Dorsey for Colorado Hike #1 ($1,000), 3D first runner up is James Leverton for Photonic Mesmerizer ($2,000) and 3D second runner up is Tom Baldwin for Athena's Totem ($1,000). J David Norton was also named Artists' Choice winner receiving $1,000.
Four jurors, two civic leaders and two arts community leaders, cast votes for favorite pieces with $1,000 awarded to each chosen artist. James Hardy, on behalf of the
city of Akron mayor's office, selected Linda Lyell for
Cypress Solitude, Traci Buckner from
GAR Foundation selected Tim Carmany for
Ray, Mark Masuoka from the
Akron Art Museum selected Shane Wynn for
Beekeeper and artist
Woodrow Nash selected J David Norton.
The full list of winners and photos will be available at
www.akronartprize.org.
About Downtown Akron Partnership
The mission of Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP) is to promote and build a vibrant and valuable downtown. DAP is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing people, activity, business and a thriving civic life to the heart of Akron. Through strategic marketing, clean and safe programs and management of downtown's resources, DAP works to promote downtown as a gathering place in the center of our community.
DAP's members include property owners, business leaders and government officials who want to improve the image of downtown as a safe, convenient location for businesses, working professionals and families. DAP is governed by a board of trustees as diverse as the interests of our city. DAP is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Akron Community Foundation and GAR Foundation.
About The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation
The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, founded in 2001, is a private grant-making foundation whose primary focus is the mental health field, with secondary interest in education and the arts. The mission is to improve the lives of people with serious mental illness by investing in innovative projects in Northeast Ohio having national transformational impact. For information, please visit www.mcmfdn.org, call 330-655-1366, or email [email protected].
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