The Berkeley Arts Council will host an exhibit of artworks in support of the Green Hill Historical African-American Cemetery (GHHAAC) in Martinsburg, WV, from February 18 through March 20, 2021 at the Berkeley Art Works, 116 N. Queen Street.

The purpose of the exhibit is to highlight the work of the GHHAAC Committee, a nonprofit organization formed in September 2017, to restore the long-abandoned African-American cemetery located on the east side of Martinsburg. The exhibit is open to all artists in the region, over the age of 18, working in any medium, including visual, literary, music, and performing arts. The subject of work may focus on any of the following themes:

– Revitalization and preservation of the cemetery grounds,
– Preservation of the history and identity of the GHHAAC, or
– Commemoration and remembrance of souls buried there.

Visual Arts: Work in all visual arts media, including drawing, painting, photography, mixed media, assemblage, sculpture and graphic arts; fine craft media, such as clay, glass, metal, wood, fibers are welcome. To participate, deliver one or two art works to the Berkeley Art Works gallery, 116 North Queen Street, Martinsburg on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, February 11, 12 and 13 from 11am to 4pm.

Artwork must be properly framed or otherwise professionally presented and ready for display.  All 2-dimensional artwork framed up to 48 inches in width, is eligible. Framed work must be wired for hanging (no saw tooth or single ring hangers, please).  Three-dimensional fine art and fine craft up to 72 inches in height and 36 inches in width or depth must be free-standing. Larger visual works or works in a series are welcome, but will require prior arrangements to ensure sufficient space in the gallery. Film or documentary work can be provided in DVD format. A DVD Player and TV screen can be provided at the gallery.

A signed consignment form for the exhibit must be submitted when the work is delivered. An identification tag must accompany each piece and must include the artist’s name, title of the work and price, if the work is for sale. The Berkeley Arts Council will retain a 30% commission on sales of work during the exhibit. The Berkeley Arts Council does not insure art work while in the gallery. Although the Berkeley Arts Council will take reasonable measures to ensure the safety of the entries in the gallery, the BAC is not responsible for loss of, or damage to, the artwork and the artist is responsible for his/her own insurance if desired.

Literary, Music and Performance Arts: Artists interested in submitting literary, music and performance work are strongly encouraged. Due to covid-19 restrictions, live performance will not be possible; however, arrangements for virtual presentation of these works will be made, if there is sufficient interest. Project proposals are required in advance and are due by Saturday, February 13, 2021.

There is no entry fee to participate in this exhibit; however, a donation to the GHHAAC Committee is appreciated. Donations may be made when artwork is delivered to the gallery, in cash or check payable to GHHAAC.

Please direct questions via e-mail to berkeleyartswv@gmail.com, with “GHHAAC” in the subject line and be sure to provide contact information so our exhibits committee can respond to you.

Entry Forms:

Visual Arts Consignment Form (PDF)

Literary, Music and Performance Arts Proposal Form (PDF)

More Information about the GHHAAC is after the break:

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The Berkeley Arts Council (BAC) announces the 11th Annual Art & Earth Juried Art Exhibit. The exhibit has the theme ‘Art and Earth: My Art – My World’. The exhibit opens Thursday April 22, 2021 in the Berkeley Art Works, 116 North Queen Street, Martinsburg, WV. The exhibit will be on display through Saturday May 29, 2021.

Entries should reflect the artist’s view of nature, the environment, or reflect an Earth Day related theme. Any medium or technique, 2-dimension or 3-dimension, is acceptable. The exhibit is open to visual artists throughout the continental United States, over the age of 18, working in any media. Entries must be original works of art that have been completed within the last three (3) years, and have not been previously exhibited at the Berkeley Art Works.

Juror:

The Juror is Paula Phillips, Faculty & Residency Coordinator for the MFA in Community Arts Program, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). She is a former director of MICA’s Community Arts Partnerships (CAP) program, and has been a full-time member of the teaching faculty in the MA and now MFA in Community Arts Program since 2004. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees from Huston-Tillotson College (1971) and Texas Wesleyan University (1994), and a Master of Fine Arts degree from MICA’s Hoffberger School of Painting (1996).

Phillips is a practicing studio and community artist, a social justice advocate and activist. She specializes in mixed-media paintings that embrace social justice issues, actualized through personal experiences and cultural and professional relationships. She incorporates the disciplines of painting, fibers, photography, ceramics, and sculptural form in her work. Her artwork has been exhibited along the Eastern Seaboard, primarily in the Baltimore-Washington areas.
Phillips is a recipient of MICA’s 2018 Trustee Award for Teaching Excellence and the 2007 Distinguished Service Award. She has been recognized by the Maryland State Department of Education for curriculum development of summer programs for Baltimore City children, youth and teens and received citations from the Baltimore City and the State of Maryland. She served three years as coordinator of MICA’s Community Arts Convening & Research Project.

Deadline for Entries: Midnight Wednesday March 3, 2021

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

Entry Fee: The entry fee for the exhibit is $35 for the first two works. Artists may submit one or two additional works for $10 each, for a maximum of four works.

Awards: Best in Show $500 Total prizes $1,000.

Click “Continue reading” for additional details:

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Best_In_Show_FlyEyes_LauraRobertson

Merit_Award_SunflowersInBlueVase_HeatherHendry

Honorable_Mention_WarHeronIII_TraceyDonnelyFranklin

Honorable_Mention_Untitled_CarinaElhordoy

Honorable_Mention_JeMarcheDansLeFleurs_TomNebel

Honorable_Mention_OutOfMyElement_OmarWilliams

(Click on any image to see a larger version.)

The Berkeley Arts Council announced the award winners for their 8th Annual Eastern West Virginia Juried Exhibit on display at the Berkeley Art Works. A virtual “reception” was held to recognize the participants and award winners. Congratulations to Laura Robertson from Kearneysville for her fabric piece, “Fly Eyes”, which was selected for Best of Show. Heather Hendry from Bunker Hill received the Merit Award for her pastel drawing “Sunflowers in Blue Vase”. Honorable mentions were given to Carina Elhordory, Martinsburg, for her acrylic painting “Untitled”; Tracey Donnelly Franklin, Shepherdstown, for her assemblage “War Heron III”; Omar Williams, Kearneysville, for his digital photograph “Out of My Element”; and Tom Nebel, Shepherdstown, for his oil painting “Je Marche Dans Les Fleurs.”

This year, 58 works were submitted primarily from Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties, from which the juror Mr. Evan Boggess of Shepherd University selected 24 works in drawing, painting, photography, fibers, mixed media, assemblage and sculpture. He commented that there were a lot of excellent, technically proficient works from which to select, representing very interesting subject matter. His aim was to select works that demonstrated longevity and that kept the viewer thinking about them long after seeing them. The Berkeley Arts Council thanks Mr. Boggess and all the artists who submitted work for consideration in this show. This annual juried exhibit is open to artists who reside in one of the eight counties that comprise the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia: Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, Hampshire, Hardy, Grant, Mineral, and Pendleton.

The exhibit is on display until October 10, 2020 at the Berkeley Art Works, 116 North Queen Street, Martinsburg, WV and is open Thursdays through Saturdays, 11:00am to 3:00pm. For more information about the Berkeley Arts Council and the Berkeley Art Works, visit us on the Web at https://berkeleyartswv.org and our Facebook page.

Juror’s Statement

As a juror and fellow artist, I am always trying to articulate the unique, intangible, and persistent qualities of elevated works of art.  What is it about a particular painting, sculpture, photograph, video, print, or installation that remains in our thoughts seconds, minutes, days, months, years after seeing it?  Artwork that exhibits elevated technical skills, subject matter, and formal command are certainly deserving of recognition, but these individual aspects on their own are relatively easy to rank.  Instead, I am drawn to pieces that manage to combine these aspects in surprising ways to create new, lasting visual experiences.   –  Evan Boggess

Congratulations to all of the accepted artists. Email notifications and instructions for delivery of artwork will be sent within shortly.

(Click here to see the full list of accepted artists:

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Call for Artists!

Decorate wearable coronavirus MASKS
with your original ideas
(purchased or homemade)

Help protect against Coronavirus transmission

Prizes Awarded:
$100 – I Can’t Live Without You
$ 50 – Stayin’ Alive Spectacular
$ 25 – Simply Marvelous

Submission Extended Deadline: September 15, 2020
(No Entry Fee!)

It’s easy to submit! Just click on the link below and enter the information.

Entry Form

(Or you may pick up an entry form at the Berkeley Art Works, 116 North Queen Street in Martinsburg. Currently open Thursdays, Fridays & Satiurdays, 11-3.)

Then, bring decorated masks to the Berkeley Art Works after the submissions close (date will be announced.) You may offer your mask(s) for sale – or not. A 30% commission on the retail selling price established by the artist shall be retained by BAC.

Each mask must have a tag securely attached with youir name, an ID number, and price (if for sale.)

After the exhibit, masks should be picked up a the Berkeley Art Works November 13-14, 2020.

We are pleased to announce that we are re-opening the Berkeley Art Works gallery to the public for limited hours starting Saturday, June 6.  The gallery will be open on Saturdays from 11am-3pm.

For the safety of our volunteers who sit the gallery, and our visitors, sanitization procedures are in place and the gallery has been arranged for safety and proper social distancing.  The number of guests in the gallery at one time will be limited and we will require our staff and visitors to wear masks.  We are monitoring Berkeley County Coronavirus information daily to determine whether we can continue to expand our hours and offerings in the coming months.

The gallery will be open for retail sales and visitors will be able to view the current exhibition, the 10th Annual Juried Art and Earth Exhibit, which will be on display until July 4.  The exhibit went “virtual” on the Web site, https://berkeleyartswv.org, in April.

While we have had to cancel exhibits scheduled for the summer months, we are announcing a special summer members’ exhibit for July, which will be followed by our Eighth Annual Eastern West Virginia Juried Exhibit in September.

Our regular classes have been cancelled for the immediate future; however, we are preparing virtual and limited attendance/social distancing solutions to continue to offer educational programs to the community.

Remember to watch your email or visit the Berkeley Arts Council’s web site and Facebook page for information on our activities and programming; questions can be directed to the Berkeley Arts Council e-mail address, berkeleyartswv@gmail.com.

Tenth Annual Art and Earth Juried Exhibit
Online Gallery

Perhaps there is a lesson in the developing world-wide catastrophe known as COVID-19 that could be summed up with the old joke, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” For ten years the Berkeley Arts Council has sponsored the Art and Earth juried art exhibit, seeking work from artists who express how they view the natural world and the environment with the goal of expanding the awareness about these things.

Due to the emergency, we will not be able to open the gallery at this time showing of the Art and Earth artwork. We remain hopeful that this is temporary but in the meantime, we wanted to share the great artwork that was selected by Juror Janis Goodman.