ArtFields® Sets Dates for Fifth Year of World-Class Creativity

LAKE CITY, SC | MAY 31, 2016

The dates are set to celebrate the enormous talent of Southeastern artists for the fifth year in a row. ArtFields® will return here April 21 through April 29, 2017, transforming this agricultural town into an art destination brimming over with 400 juried art works from 12 states.

Plans are underway to make the fifth year of the South’s biggest art competition bigger than ever. Once again, art and art lovers will take over the town, as original works are showcased in 30-plus venues that include historic buildings, shops, cafés and offices.

Meanwhile, organizers are conjuring new and exciting programming designed to engage visitors of all ages.

ArtFields will issue its annual Call for Submissions in September, inviting two- and three-dimensional art submissions from the region to compete for a prize purse totaling $100,000.

Art professionals annually select the 400 pieces of competition art from hundreds of online submissions. Artists who reside in 12 Southeastern states – Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia – are invited to enter original works.

Artists who won the 2016 competition were Charles Clary of Conway, SC, who won top prize ($50,000) for Be Kind, Rewind; Brent Pafford of Clemson, SC won Juried Prize for Remember This as a time of Day; Aron Belka of New Orleans, LA nabbed the People’s Choice ($12,500, chosen by festival visitors) two-dimensional work award for Contact Tracing, and Jocelyn Chateauvert of Charleston, SC garnered the People’s Choice three-dimensional work prize ($12,500) for Invasive Species.

Ten Honorable Mention prizes of $1,000 each (donated by The Citizens Bank) were awarded to the following artists in 2016: Susie Ganch (Richmond, VA), Heather Mae Erickson (Sylva, NC), Brad Williams (Myrtle Beach, SC), Colin Quashie (Charleston, SC), Michael Logan Woodle (Conway, SC), Wanbli Hamilton Gamache (Fayetteville, AR), Logan Tanner (Huntsville, AL), Ken Hamilton (Goose Creek, SC), Tyrone Geter (Elgin, SC), and Stacy Rexrode (Chapel Hill, NC).

ArtFields honors Lake City’s rich agricultural history, and its burgeoning creative community. The festival is part of a larger effort on the part of the town to spur visitation and economic vitality.