PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Wednesday, the City of Portage announced its 4th Annual Portage Community Art Award, held in conjunction with the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA) annual West Michigan Area Show (WMAS).
According to officials, WMAS is a juried exhibition of visual arts from community talent spanning a 14-county region, and multiple art mediums.
The 2021 juror is New York-based curator, Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Officials say Ossei-Mensah uses contemporary art as a vehicle to redefine “how we see ourselves and the world around us” and is the co-founder of ARTNOIR, a
non-profit, “global collective of culturalists” who design engaging cultural experiences for younger generations.
Ossei-Mensah is the former Susanne Feld Hilberry Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and is currently serving as Curator at Large at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
To be eligible to receive the $1,000 award from the City of Portage, the winning artist must be a Portage resident. All artwork submitted must reflect the city’s theme, “A Natural Place to Move” and be available for display in Portage City Hall Lobby for one year beginning Wednesday, September 8.
The winner must also provide 10 to 12 additional works of art for display at City Hall from September 9 – October 29. Artists may submit entries per the guidelines available on the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts website at KIARTS.org by March 31.
More details about the WMAS award ceremony will be announced in the near future, according to officials.
For more information, call Portage Parks & Recreation at 269-329-4522
