The region’s oldest juried art competition has returned for its 48th year.

Meridian Museum of Art’s annual Bi-State Art Competition and Exhibition is currently housed at the downtown Meridian museum. Now in its 48th year, the prestigious exhibit recognizes and celebrates outstanding artistic achievements by artists, MMA Executive Director Kate Cherry said. Open to current and past residents of Mississippi and Alabama, the competition offers more than $3,000 in awards and prizes, including the $1,000 Alliance Health Center Best of Show Award and the Charlie Busler Memorial Award.

Recognized as the cornerstone exhibit for Meridian Museum of Art, this year’s Bi-State drew 274 entries, with 76 works selected by 59 artists.

“As a Meridian native, it’s such an honor to be chosen for the Meridian Museum of Art Bi-State competition and exhibition,” said Daniel C. Ethridge, who is among the artists featured in this year’s Bi-State.

“Every artist’s contribution adds to the mosaic of our culture and there is no better display of talent than at this year’s MMA Exhibition. I feel so blessed to be a part of it,” Ethridge said.

Mississippi artists selected to be in the exhibition from the Pines Region are: Bob Purvis, Denise Dengler, Elliott Street, FUZZFUR (Daniel C. Ethridge), Gary Howse, J’Marcus Alfred, Mary Clare Evans, Robert Hale, Shelly Graham, William Crudup, Winki Allen, Cynthia Buob, Julia Graber, Kathie Baeuerlin, Olin Perry Norton, Robert Gibson, Rowan Haug, Susan Nawrocki, and Thomas Nawrocki; Capital/River Region are Anne O’Hara, Bailey Hughes, Brittany Davis, Charles Carraway, Jane Randall Cleek, Lesley Silver, Megan Hitt, Miriam Wahl, Nate Theisen, Paul Smith, Rick Anderson, and Sabyna Sterrett; Coastal Region, Barbara-Ann Carver-Hunt, Betty Press, Carolyn Busenlener, Carolyn McIntyre Norton, George Ann McCullough, Joan McRaney, John Dumoulin, Kathy Tosh, Martina Sciolino, Mary Hardy, Mary Louise Porter, Melissa Smith, Pat Abernathy, Pat Odom, Paulette Dove, Sadako Lewis, Vanda McCormick, and; Hills Region, John Armistead, Thomas Grosskopf and Angi Cooper.

Alabama artists selected are: Charlotte Wegrzynowski, Dillan Ladner, Julia Gary, Kelly Proaps, Martha Markline Hopkins, and William Dooley; Georgia artist Terry Kahlmus Childers; Louisiana artist Frahn Koerner.

All images and the exhibition can be viewed on MMA’s Facebook Page.

About the juror

Ronna S. Harris served as the juror for the 48th Annual Bi-State Art Competition and Exhibition. Juror Ronna S. Harris serves as an Associate Professor in the Newcomb Art Department with Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she has instructed since 1989.  

Harris received her Master of Fine Arts/Painting at the University of California Santa Barbara and her Bachelor of Art/Drawing from California State University at Northridge, California, and attended the San Francisco Art Institute. Harris’s teaching specialization includes painting, figure drawing, studio fundamentals, illustration, design fundamentals and color theory.

Harris noted in her juror’s statement, “It is always a challenge for me to select a diverse but cohesive exhibition of a wide range of materials, genres and personal exploration. It is exciting when the process comes together.

“I have been teaching at Tulane University since 1989. I’ve had the opportunity to work with many students and see their creations come to life. Through teaching techniques, method and intent, material, and process, their artworks unfold, and their visions realized. Being in the academic world, I also have the opportunity to interact with many professional artists. Our conversations and critiques have given me the opportunity to mold and reshape my own work by hearings their insights, I see their perspective,” Harris said.

“The juror’s process is a different type of conversation. It is a challenge as a juror to be tasked with selecting a body of work. To choose from hundreds of wonderful submissions by imagery alone and to condense these works to a limited number required a primary emphasis. Mine was applying technical ability to create an ambiance,” she said.

Harris noted jurors must solely focus primarily on the visual qualities. As she evaluated each individual piece, she asked questions such as:

• How firm a grasp on the particular medium was exhibited?

• Was there a clear attempt to convey a message or spirit?

• Was the composition sound?

• Did the work have an ambiance that captivated my attention?

“The question I asked myself, ‘Am I being open to different genres and different approaches?’” she said.

While it can be difficult to analyze and compare one work to another, Harris said the power of direction can be felt even in the absence of an artist’s statement or biography.

“So was the case with the numerous submissions to this year’s Bi-State Competition and Exhibition,” she said. “There were many artists who captivated my attention throughout this process.”

Harris congratulated those who submitted their work to this year’s exhibition.

“It was a great honor and privilege to jury this show and experience the vast array of remarkable submissions. If your work was not selected for this year’s competition, please don’t be discouraged. This was an incredibly competitive group of work. You deserve a thank you for having the commitment to putting, ‘yourself on the line.’

“I also send a special congratulations to the award winners for their success in producing excellent creations. You deserve a well-deserved recognition,” Harris said.

The MMA Bi-State Competition and Exhibition will conclude Saturday, Sept. 24 with a special reception from 2-4 p.m. at Meridian Museum of Art. Awards will be announced at 3:30 p.m.

“Many of the artists that are exhibiting normally attend this reception,” Cherry said. “It’s a good time for viewers to visit with the artists, ask questions or just talk with the artists.”

Meridian Museum of Art is located at 628 25th Ave. Museum hours are Tuesday-Saturday, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is always free. For more information, contact Kate Cherry at 601-693-1501, meridianmuseum@bellsouth.net or visit their website www.meridianmuseum.org or the museum’s Facebook Page.

• The 48th Annual Bi-State is supported in part by its members, Sharon Busler and Rachel Busler Misenar, the Community Foundation of East Mississippi through endowments from Alliance Health Center and the Martin and Linda Davidson’s Family, the city of Meridian, the Phil Hardin Foundation, the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, the Riley Foundation, The Paul and Sherry Broadhead Foundation, and the Ernest Worker’s Circle.

“As a Meridian native, it’s such an honor to be chosen for the Meridian Museum of Art Bi-State competition and exhibition. Every artist’s contribution adds to the mosaic of our culture and there is no better display of talent than at this year’s MMA Exhibition. I feel so blessed to be a part of it,” ” said Daniel C. Ethridge, Meridian artist