Show that started it all: Entries to be accepted for 74th SP Art Show
March 09, 2011
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
The show that started it all by solidifying the area’s reputation of being home to notable artists as well as leading to the famous Santa Paula Art Collection is being readied.
Entries for the 74th Annual Santa Paula Art & Photography Show will be accepted starting Thursday, March 10.
The show, sponsored by the Santa Paula Society of the Arts, will open Tuesday, March 15 and be exhibited through Wednesday, April 6 at Blanchard Community Library, 119 N. 8th Street. Entries will be accepted at Blanchard Memorial Library, north side, Thursday, March 10 from 12 noon to 8 p.m. and Saturday, March 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Each year the show - the oldest such juried event in the state - draws artists from throughout the state and the southwest.
The Artists Reception and Awards Presentation, which each year is crowded with hundreds of artists and art lovers, will be held on Saturday, March 26, from 3 to 7 p.m. There are numerous awards, including the coveted Peoples Choice - balloting will begin for the award when the show debuts - and the unique Jury of Peers, with show artists themselves voting for their favorite artists. Balloting for both categories will close at 5 p.m. the day of the reception.
According to SPSA President Lynda Gruber, $4,750 in prizes were awarded last year, provided mostly by “our very generous sponsors who believe in the mission of the society, love the arts, and support our community overall. Santa Paula’s art community is thankful for all who enjoy and support the arts.”
And that includes visitors and supporters of the Santa Paula Art Museum, opened last year as a showcase of the arts including those exhibited from the famous Santa Paula Art Collection. A majority of the collection of about 400 paintings, noted Gruber, was purchased by or donated to various entities (the city, school districts, library and former hospital) after they were award winners in the annual art shows, founded in 1937 by noted artists Jessie Arms Botke, Cornelis Botke and Douglas Shively, among others.
The prospectus for the 2011 show has been sent to those who have participated in the show in the recent past, but is still available at the Camarillo Art Center, Buenaventura Art Association, Santa Paula Art Museum (117 10th St.), Blanchard Community Library, The Studio Gallery (2741 S. Victoria Ave., Channel Islands Harbor) and the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce at the Depot (corner of 10th and East Santa Barbara streets).
Those who wish to enter must hurry: the last day entries will be accepted is March 12. There is a fee for each entry and a limit to the number of works that can be entered in the competition, which offers awards in various art categories.
All works must be offered for sale, and the Santa Paula Society of the Arts will handle transactions and retain a 25 percent commission. For more information, call the SPSA at 525-1104.
Blanchard Community Library is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m.; Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
