2017: The Year of the Artist

That fortune cookie prediction might come true, in downsized form, if you’re an artist. Local competitions invite artists of several stripes to show their stuff.

Maryland Historical Connections
    Open to all Anne Arundel County residents over the age of 18; sponsored by Arts Council of Anne Arundel County. Submit up to three works that relate to exhibit theme in any two dimensional medium. Deadline Feb. 10: acaac.org. Judging by a panel of three professional artists.
    On exhibit: March through June 15 at Thurgood Marshall BWI International Airport.


Wish You Were Here
    Submit up to five original photos shot between 2013 and 2017 on the property of Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. Deadline Feb. 15: [email protected]. Winners notified by March 1.
    On exhibit: Select photos will be printed for exhibit in the museum’s visitors center with the top five photos reprinted as postcards for the park.


The 2017 Artists Without Limits Art Exhibit
    Open to Anne Arundel County artists with disabilities of all ages, working in any two-dimensional medium. Subject is My World. Submit up to three original works. Deadline Feb. 20: www.aacounty.org/Aging/DisabilityCommission/Index.htm.
    On exhibit: March 27 through June 7 at the Arundel Center, 44 Calvert St., Annapolis.


Annual Arbor Day Poster Contest
    Open to fifth-graders throughout Maryland.  Subject is Trees Are Terrific … and Energy Wise! Submit original posters (81⁄2×11″ to 22×28″) drawn in marker, crayon, paint pens, watercolor, ink, acrylic, regular or colored pencil or tempera paint. Deadline Feb. 24, delivered to a state forest service office (Anne Arundel, 410-360-8421; Calvert, 410-535-1303). Entries will be judged by county, then submitted to the Maryland Urban and Community Forestry Committee for statewide competition. Three winning posters receive tree plantings at the artists’ schools: first place will win 15 trees; second place 10; and third place five. Teachers notified by March 24. Anne Gilbert at 410-260-8510.
    On exhibit: Online and during April at DNR’s Tawes State Office Building in Annapolis.


What Does Lexington Park Mean to You? Lexington Park Comes Alive!
    Artists submit detailed sketch and design proposals for a mural in black and white plus one accent color to appear on all or part of a 15-foot-tall by 50-foot-wide cinderblock wall visible from a busy Lexington Park intersection. Deadline March 10: https://stmaryscdc.org/lexpark-alive-mural-competition. Winner to be jury chosen on how well the sketch depicts a community vision of a slice of life in Lexington Park.
    On exhibit: Public presentation of all submissions and announcement of winner April 9 at the St. Mary’s County Community Development Corp’s ArtsPark Cherry Blossom Festival celebrating public art the weekend of April 8-9. With a Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium  grant, the winner’s work will be reproduced on the Bank Square Building on South Shangri-La Drive near its Great Mills Road intersection.