MBA / FEATURE
Courting Art Update
T
he cover story in our last issue of SIDEBAR helped pave the way for Courting Art – an exciting new community arts initiative aimed at relieving stress, promoting healing and bringing justice to the walls of our county courthouse without dependence on tax dollars. In the shadow of cuts to organizations like Legal Aid and the Montgomery Child Advocacy Project, members of our legal community showed some creativity of their own by collaborating with local artists, adult communities, and local media in an effort to bring some justice to the tired walls of our County Courthouse. Thanks to our Community Outreach Committee, its members, sponsors and community partners – we all pulled together and accomplished a remarkable first. To our knowledge, Courting Art was and is the first initiative of its kind
to place juried art “of the people, by the people and for the people” in a county courthouse with zero dependence on taxpayer dollars. This year’s two-day exhibition and VIP Awards Event played out before rave reviews – so much so that our generous partners at Montgomery County Community College have offered to host a full, monthlong feature exhibition for us on next year’s Fine Arts Center gallery schedule! Our inaugural Awards Event included appearances by some of Montgomery County’s top artists, our county commissioners, nearly a dozen members of our bench, and dozens of bar leaders, community leaders, business leaders, dignitaries and legislature. In total, 113 pieces of original artwork were on display in our inaugural exhibition. $4,500 in prizes were awarded in total to amateur
and professional artists throughout Montgomery County, ranging in age between 55 and 101½. Thanks to our generous sponsors (appearing on page 38 of this issue and in dozens of newspapers throughout the Delaware Valley courtesy of our presenting sponsor, Digital First Media), all winning work is now immortalized as part of a permanent exhibit on the walls of the Montgomery County Court House. Thanks to their support and the creativity of local artists and our Community Outreach Committee, the 40+ award-winning pieces on the Plaza level hallway mark the beginning of a renaissance in our county courthouse. Be sure to visit our Media Center on CourtingArt.com to catch up on front page news articles, video highlights and some very exciting news about next year’s contest and month-long feature exhibition!
All photos courtesy of Montgomery County Community College, photographer: Sandi Yanisko
SIDEBAR
12
SUMMER 2013