Kent State College of the Arts Announces 2016 Stratosphere Finalists

The finalists of the 2016 Stratosphere Juried Art Competition will have their work on display April 20-30 at Kent State University’s Downtown Gallery, located at 141 E. Main St. in Kent. A reception and awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 21, from 5 to 7 p.m., with competition winners announced at 6 p.m. Both the gallery and reception are free and open to the public.

Juror Alenka Banco, director of the Cleveland Arts Prize, selected 25 finalists from a pool of more than 200 individual entries. Sponsored by the Kent State College of the Arts, the competition was open to all full-time undergraduates attending the Kent campus, regardless of major.

Visitors to the exhibition on April 20 (noon - 7 p.m.) and 21 (noon - 6 p.m.) will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite artwork in the People’s Choice Award category, which carries a $500 prize. That award, along with Best in Show ($1,000), First Runner-Up ($500) and Second Runner-Up ($250) will be presented during the April 21 reception.

The Downtown Gallery is open Monday - Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Thursday 9:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.; Friday 9:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; and Sunday noon - 5 p.m.

This year’s Stratosphere finalists are:

Name Major(s)
Yasmin Ali Fashion Design
Emily Blystone Interior Design
Moriah Bruening Crafts
Logan Drake Bruni Fashion Design
Justin Buescher Fine Arts
Valerie Buynak Fine Arts
Biqin Chen Fashion Merchandising
Olivia Eitzman Anthropology; Fine Arts
Rachel Fortenbaugh Fine Arts
Shelby Gill Engineering Technology
Samuel Hersh English
Kathleen Huber Fashion Design
Paige Joy Public Relations
Abbey Kish Art Education; Fine Arts
Gyula Kozmon Advertising
Ruizhi Li Crafts
Katie Metcalf Fine Arts
Kathleen Morris Visual Communication Design
Monica Ramser Art Education
McKenzie Rhodes Crafts
Jacob Sas Architecture
Abigail E. Schnure Crafts
Michael Scupholm Crafts
Ashley Spangler Fine Arts
Amanda Stumpf Crafts

###

Contact: Effie Tsengas, communications and marketing director, etsengas@kent.edu, 330-672-8398 (office)

POSTED: Wednesday, April 13, 2016 04:45 PM
Updated: Saturday, December 3, 2022 01:02 AM
WRITTEN BY:
Alex Parrott