Pocono Arts Council Announces Earth Speaks IV Awards Artists’ Reception April 21; Exhibit Runs Through April 28

The Pocono Arts Council is pleased to announce the award recipients for “The Earth Speaks IV: A Juried Exhibition on the Environmental Crisis,” featured in the ARTSPACE Gallery at the Pocono Arts Council, April 6-28, 18 N. Seventh Street in Stroudsburg, Monroe County.

Art is a powerful tool for expressing ideas and feelings about issues of concern and can be a catalyst for change. Artists (in a variety of mediums) have captured their concern regarding the environmental crisis.

Through art and creative expression, the exhibit will shine a light on man-made issues that pose a threat to our planet, environmental disasters and ideas for solutions.

The following award recipients will be recognized for their work based on the important theme of the environmental crisis:

-- Juror’s Choice Award: Maria Ferreris, Acrylic “After Maria;”

-- Kay & Girard Lichty Climate Crisis Award: April Rimpo, Acrylic I, II, III, “Worth The Price?;”

-- ARTSPACE Gallery Student Award: Angelina Kimmins, Watercolor, “Mother Earth;”

-- Otto Grever Printmaking Award: Brooke Jana, Giclee Print of Digital Art, “Crude-Feathered Friends of the Deepwater Horizon;”

-- 2-D Award: Buff McAllister, Fiber, “Maze;”

-- 3-D Award: Clifton Prokop, Cast Iron, “TLV Silence of the Frogs;”

-- Photography Award: Laurinda Faye Rubin, Photography, “Tomato Soup;”

-- Origins Gallery Student Award: Shari Bodofsky, Pencil on Paper, “Portrait of Discarded Plastic.”

Fifty artists submitted 92 pieces to be juried. 60 works were selected to be included in the show from artists residing in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Maryland.

Award sponsors for the Earth Speaks IV exhibition are PPL, Mark & Wendy Lichty, Origins Gallery, and the Pocono Arts Council. Acknowledgements to Kitchen Chemistry for providing cupcakes and Café Duet for providing coffee for the event.

Juror for the show was Raymond Barnes, Professor of Painting and Drawing at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. Barnes has a B.A. in Fine Arts, Norwich School of Art, United Kingdom, and an M.F.A. Painting, Yale University School of Art. He is an exhibiting artist in the Lehigh Valley, New York and throughout the U.S.; a curator and co-curator of art exhibitions in the Lehigh Valley; and a juror of fine art exhibitions.

Mark Lichty has served as Chair of The Earth Speaks committee for the past four years. Joining him this year were committee members, including East Stroudsburg Area School district art teachers Mercy Shemansky and Bridget Tinney, YMCA representative Dawn Michniewicz, East Stroudsburg University Professor David Mazure, representation by Monroe County Conservation District, Jane MacHale, Nora Goodwin, and Pocono Arts Council representatives Jody Singer, Brandon Jones and Jack Swersie.

The ARTSPACE Gallery is open Monday through Friday,10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Noon to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For further information, call 570-476-4460 or visit the Pocono Arts Council website.

Artists’ Reception April 21

An artists’ reception will be held April 21 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. where awards will be presented and artists recognized. The schedule of events includes--

-- 4:00: Earth Speaks IV Opening Reception;

-- 4:00 to 6:00: Chalk Drawings Contest on 7th Street;

-- 4:00 to 4:30: Musical Performance by Renard Cohen;

-- 4:30 to 5:00: Poetry Readings about the Earth by Mike Wetmore & Co. Poets;

-- 5:00 to 5:30: Informational Talk (with Native Flute Music) from Delwin Fiddler, Jr., a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Standing Rock Water Protector;

-- 5:30 to 6:00: Educational Mini-talks on the Environment by Environmentalist, Darryl Speicher, and James Hunt, Oceanographer and Professor at ESU;

-- 6:00: Earth Speaks IV Awards Presentation;

-- 6:10:  Art Awards Ceremony;

-- 6:20: Chalk Drawing Contest Awards & Art Raffle Drawing; and

-- 6:30 to 7:00: Musical Performance by the band Woodrow.

In addition, Origins Gallery will be hosting a show, "A Voice for the Earth IV" Gifts of the Earth," 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., with refreshments and live music by the band Woodrow.  Click Here for more information.

For more information on this and other special events, visit the Pocono Arts Council website.