The winners of The Mazin Art Exhibition will be announced at a presentation Sunday, November 23, in the Patio Gallery at the Jewish Community Center. The show is a major annual juried art show that attracts entries from all over the region.
This year the show received a record 142 entries in a wide variety of media from 63 regional artists. The entries have been narrowed down to 24 artists whose work will be exhibited in the Patio Gallery until Jan. 6.
McCrystle Wood, a professor of art at the University of Cincinnati, is the juror of the show and will announce the first, second and third-place winners. Wood received her BFA and MFA degrees from Indiana University, and her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Wood’s work will be exhibited in the Patio Gallery July 19 to Aug. 25, 2015.
Bernice Mazin was a beloved member of the Jewish community, said Slava Nelson, cultural arts director for the JCC. She died last year, just before the annual show she established to provide opportunities for local artists opened. As a tribute to their mother, Mazin’s daughters decided to make this year’s Mazin Art Exhibition larger with broader geographic boundaries and higher awards.
“Not only was she a talented artist with incredible vision, but she understood how important it is to support young artists in the beginning of their careers,” Nelson said. “That was behind the idea when Mazin decided to donate money for this annual event. She wanted those incredible talents in the community will be identified and brought to the broader community.
Not only was she a talented person herself, she knew that artists live mostly on their creativity and are always in need of financial support.”
“The show is important because it gives the public the opportunity to see the development and change from the beginning of an artists’ career to the end,” said Dennis Hummel, Mazin’s son-in-law. “It’s a great source of pride and joy to us as individuals and to be able to share all the work Bernice did with the public, especially those who may not be familiar with her work.”