Cleveland’s 20th Year Breaks All Records
This year marked a huge milestone for the City of Cleveland National Arts Program exhibit. The city celebrated their 20th Anniversary with the program while simultaneously breaking all of their previous participation records. This year’s exhibit featured 525 pieces of art by city residents - that’s 204 pieces more than their 2018 show! Organizing a show of this size is no small task and coordinator Rosa Casiano along with her team from Cudell Fine Arts did an amazing job from start to finish. The show received rave reviews from participants, visitors and judges alike.
First time participant Maxwell Miller, who entered his most recent self portrait (pictured), was awarded Best of Show by the judges and People’s Choice by attendees. Maxwell had this to say about his experience, “It was really something special to see the appreciation that the jurors, artists and viewers had for my painting. This was the first time I’ve entered a competition like this and it already feels like a big step in my artistic career. This has been an awesome experience!”
One of the three judges tasked with selecting the winners from the more than 500 pieces entered in this year show was artist Cat Swartz who had nothing but positive comments about her involvement. She stated, “Such a wonderful experience with a marvelous staff at Cudell. I very much enjoyed taking to the artists and attending the awards.” As an added element to the show, each of the three judges was able to display a piece of their own artwork in the gallery alongside the participants. This simple addition helps to bridge the gap between juror and participant all while creating a larger sense of community by showcasing their artwork in the same gallery space.
The City of Cleveland is one of our longest consecutive running shows and now one of our largest exhibits on record! The continued success experienced by this venue can only be attributed to the dedication of coordinators like Rosa and her hard-working team at Cudell Fine Arts.