Local Artists Win Prizes at CRT's National Arts Reception

Featured on courant.com

Bloomfield and Windsor artists walked away with the top two prizes in this year's National Arts Program sponsored by Community Renewal Team (CRT). The coveted Best in Show award went to Alfred Bradley of Windsor, a professional artist who submitted a work titled Obelisk. Shirley Mae Neu of Bloomfield won the first prize in the Professional category, for her painting entitled Global Mismanagement 2. In addition, Kinja Rose of Bloomfield won third prize in the Professional category for a drawing he called Where Is He?

A standing-room-only crowd filled the auditorium at Capital Community Collegeon January 31, as CRT presented awards to 32 artists from Greater Hartford and Middlesex County. More than 275 works were submitted to be hung in the 24th annual show.

Although entry in the show is free, the support of the National Arts Foundation allows CRT to distribute a total of $2,400 in prizes to children, youth, and adults at the Amateur, Intermediate and Professional levels. For 2015, the prestigious panel of judges included JoAnne Bauer, Andres Chaparro, Pat Fahy, Tracy Kane and Edjohnetta Miller.

Graphic artist Joe Young, who recently released a feature-length film called "Diamond Ruff," served as the event's emcee. Featured entertainer was Hartford's own jazz singer Aja Wilson, a graduate of Hartt School of Music. Members of the Free Poets Collective presented poems inspired by each of the first prize pieces in the show.

For a slide show of all winners, please go to crtct.org/events

The following artists won awards in this year's program.

Alfred Bradley, Windsor - Professional Best In Show
Audrey Tucker, Newington - Amateur 1st
Carolyn Taggart, Newington - Amateur 2nd
Joan Duffy, Broad Brook - Amateur 3rd
Barbara Blain, Newington - Intermediate 1st
Roy Wrenn, Glastonbury - Intermediate 2nd
Travis Gibbs, New London - Intermediate 3rd
Shirley Mae Neu, Bloomfield - Professional1st
Sean Dudley, Southington - Professional 2nd
Kinja Rose, Bloomfield - Professional 3rd
David Danek, Suffield - Teen 1st
Geonna Kline, Middletown - Teen 2nd
Zhanel Priester, Hartford - Teen 3rd
Owen Roberts, Hartford - Youth 1st
Elena Sadeghi, Glastonbury - Youth 2nd
Quinn Chen-Phang, Hartford - Youth 3rd