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Union County’s Art Exhibit Seeks Artists 60 and Older

Union County senior art show
Previous award winning works in the Senior Citizens Art Exhibit include “Keeping Track of Time,” a mixed media entrant in the non-professional craft category by Lynn MacWhirter (screenshot, cropped).

Artist residents of Union County who are 60 years of age or older are invited to participate and exhibit an original work of art in the Union County Senior Citizens Art Exhibit, which features artwork that has been completed within the last three years.  Sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, the exhibit is open to entrants who are either amateur/non-professional or professional in status.  Any person who meets at least two of the following criteria is considered professional: a) sold the type of art entered in the exhibition through commercial channels; b) exhibited in a professional gallery; c) held professional membership in a guild or association.

The annual Union County Senior Citizens Art Exhibit will be held at the Atrium of the Elizabethtown Gas Company, Liberty Hall Center, 1085 Morris Avenue, Union.  The exhibit will run from June 1 to July 13, with an artists’ reception scheduled for Wednesday June 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Following are the 10 categories of eligible work:

oil, acrylic, watercolor (includes gouache)

pastel (including chalk, charcoal and oil pastel)

prints and drawings (includes drawings with pencil, pen, ink, graphite, and prints such as etching, engraving, lithograph, woodcut, monoprint, monotype, silkscreen, etc.)

mixed media (combines two or more media, no one of which clearly predominates; includes collage and assemblage)

sculpture (designed in three dimensions, carved or constructed in any medium, abstract or figurative, painted or unpainted)

craft (one-of-a-kind creations only, no craft kits or molds)

digital/computer art (artwork generated or altered using computer graphics software)

photography.  Please note:  photos taken with a digital camera, digitally-altered photos, and images made using a scanner must be entered in the Photography category.

Three professional artists will judge the entries. Awards will go to first, second, third place and honorable mention winners in each category.  First place winners in all categories go on to compete in September at the New Jersey State Senior Citizens Art Show which will take place at the Meadow Lakes retirement community (www.meadowlakesonline.org) in East Windsor. 

Guidelines require that hanging artwork, crafts and photos must be no more than 36 inches and no less than 10 inches in any dimension (including matting and framing).  Sculpture or 3-D crafts may not exceed 20 inches in any dimension (measurements must include any base for the sculpture.  All works must be properly labeled and delivered “show-ready” with screw eyes and wiring ready for hanging.  Where necessary, pictures must be protected with glass, Plexiglas, Mylar or other clear material.  Plexiglas is strongly recommended on pieces over 24 inches.

For a copy of the application, call Nicole DeAugustine, Senior Art Show Coordinator, at the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 908-558-2550, or email culturalinfo@ucnj.org.  Relay users dial 711.  Mail completed applications to 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07202; or fax to: 908-558-2652 on or before Wednesday, May 20.

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