Awards Announced at Opening of 2022 Pee Dee Regional Art Competition
Thursday evening, January 27, marked the opening of the 2022 Pee Dee Regional Art Competition sponsored by Chick-fil-A of Florence at the Florence County Museum’s Waters Gallery in downtown Florence, SC.
This year’s competition juror was contemporary mixed media and installation artist Claudia O’Steen of Rock Hill SC, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at Winthrop University. The Pee Dee Regional has been presented annually since 1954 and is one of the longest-running competitive art exhibitions in the state.
The $1000 First Place prize was awarded to Dale Weatherford of Darlington, for his charcoal drawing, Girl with Braids. O’Steen complimented the drawing fir its, “great sensitivity and attention to detail.” Weatherford is currently studying at the Academy of Realist Art, Boston.
A Second Place award of $600 went to competition newcomer Marina Shaltout of Hartsville, for her mixed media video installation, Ravenous. She has exhibited in Europe, Asia, and throughout the United States. Shaltout received her MFA from University of Arizona, and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Art at Coker University.
Third Place ($300) was awarded to veteran Pee Dee Regional competitor Charles Clary of Conway for his mixed media and cut paper assemblage, Lamentation Movement #3. Clary received his MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design and is now an Associate Professor of Studio Art at Coastal Carolina University.
Honorable Mention ($100) was given to Williamsburg County resident ceramics artist Elizabeth Borowsky for her elegant contemporary porcelain sculpture, Entwined.
About this year’s competition entries, O’Steen remarked on the overall quality of, “technical skill and conceptual depth… filling the gallery space with great energy.”
The exhibit is composed of 29 works of art selected from over 130 online submissions by 66 artists representing northeastern South Carolina. As in previous years, the 2022 Pee Dee Regional was opened to submissions of art created within the last two years by all artists within the Pee Dee region.
The exhibit is now open to the public and will remain on display through Friday, April 8, 2022 in the FCM Waters Gallery, 135 South Dargan St. Visitors are invited to join the awards selection by casting their ballots for the Jo Ann Fender Scarborough People’s Choice Award. Voting for the People’s Choice Award is open through Friday, March 25. The winner will be announced Monday, March 28.
The exhibit can be viewed at flocomuseum.org/exhibitions/2022-pee-dee-regional and at the Florence County Museum Waters Gallery, 135 South Dargan Street, Monday – Friday: 10:00am – 5:00pm.
For more information about the Pee Dee Regional Art Competition and other upcoming exhibits and events, please contact the Florence County Museum at 843.676.1200 or visit the website at flocomuseum.org.
