48th Annual Bi-State Art Competition and Exhibition

The annual Bi-State is a juried exhibition presented by the Meridian Museum of Art (MMA), offering over $3,000 in awards and prizes including the $1,000 Best of Show Cash Award. The purpose of the exhibition is to showcase contemporary artists in Mississippi and Alabama and reward their efforts. This competition and exhibition is open to all artists who are current or past residents of Mississippi or Alabama.

Juror Ronna S. Harris

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 art works unfold, and their visions realized. Being in the academic world, I also have the opportunity to interacted 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. 

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 ambience.

Jurors must solely focus primarily on the visual qualities.  As I evaluated each individual piece, I 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 ambience that captivated my attention?

The question I asked myself, I am being open to different genres and different approaches?

It can be difficult to analyze and compare one work above another, but 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. There were many artists who captivated my attention throughout this process.

I’d like to congratulate everyone who submitted their work to this 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.

To guests of the exhibition: I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I enjoyed selecting the works.

Again, Kate Cherry, thank you for the honor of being the juror this year for the Meridian Museum of Art.

Sincerely,

Ronna S. Harris

Artists Included