GCAC Presents Awards to Area Artists at Ohio State Fair Exhibition

Did you know that one of the best-attended annual art shows in the state is held at the Ohio State Fair?

The Fine Arts Exhibition, a long-running aspect of the Fair, has been held at the Cox Fine Arts Center since 1909. The annual juried exhibition features hundreds of works by Ohio artists and offers $15,000 in awards thanks to funding provided by arts groups, corporations and arts councils, including the Greater Columbus Arts Council and the Ohio Arts Council.

GCAC presented four Franklin County artists with $100 each. Allison Buenger and Clarence McKinney II received the GCAC Professional Award, and Melissa Ayotte and Alissa Sorenson received the GCAC Amateur Award in a public ceremony at the exhibition on July 28.

Melissa Vogley Woods, an acclaimed mixed-media artist and Pam O'Loughlin, a designer and art therapist, are in their second year as co-directors of the exhibition. Jurors for this year's professional show were Iduna Bohning, an art administrator from Dresden, Germany; Rosemarie Fiore, a nationally recognized artist; and Richard Aschenbrand, a professor, curator and graphic designer at the Columbus College of Art & Design.

In addition to selecting artists for the exhibition, this year's jurors chose more than 300 artworks to showcase for the Patron Purchase Program, which gives art collectors the unique opportunity to add Ohio works to their collections. Their purchases provide the artists statewide visibility and exposure.

Photo courtesy of Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition. Melissa Ayotte's The Ties That Bind, yarn and sculpted forms.