Calling all artists – Thistle Cottage needs your help for their upcoming art exhibit!
Muhlenberg County Public Libraries’ Thistle Cottage is preparing for a Community Art Show to be displayed in the main gallery from Sept. 16 through Oct. 25.
“Our community is full of talented artists, both professional and amateur,” Thistle Cottage Archivist Amie Waltrip said. “But a lot of the people we’ve spoken to say they don’t have enough of their work on hand to do a full show on their own.
“We hope this will be an opportunity for all of those incredible, talented Muhlenberg Countians to show off what they do without feeling the pressure of having to fill up the whole gallery by themselves.”
Waltrip said Thistle Cottage hosted a similar Community Art Show several years ago with great success. “We got really good comments from people who participated or who just stopped by to view the artwork,” she said.
“But since it’s been several years now, it felt like a good time to do another one.”
Waltrip said the Community Art Show is open to all Muhlenberg County residents ages 13 and up who do any sort of artwork. “It isn’t just for ‘fine arts’ like drawing and painting,” Waltrip added. “That includes needlework, quilting, all of it … we have some really great fiber artists in this county, for example, and we definitely want them to feel welcome to participate along with the others.
“If it’s artsy, we’ll accept it.”
Full submission guidelines for the 2024 Community Art Show are:
- Artwork must be completed by a teenager or adult (13 or over) who currently lives, works or owns property in Muhlenberg County.
- Artwork must be suitable for a diverse, all-ages audience.
- All media and forms of artwork are acceptable (drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, needlework, etc.).
- Recorded artistic performances will be accepted as long as they are recorded in a format that can be exhibited without requiring the artist’s presence and are limited to no more than 15 minutes in length. (Due to the nature of the work, if multiple pieces of performance art are received, these may be compiled into a slideshow format if deemed necessary by Thistle Cottage staff.)
- Each artist may submit up to three pieces of work.
- All artwork must be labelled with artist’s name, address and phone number, as well as the title of artwork (if named).
- An artist statement or biography may be included if desired, as well as an explanation of the inspiration for the artwork, but is not required.
Additionally, Waltrip said, if more than one piece of art is submitted by a single artist, they should be ranked by the artist in order of priority. In the case of a shortage of gallery space, Muhlenberg County Public Libraries staff will display the highest priority artworks first to ensure that everyone has a chance to be included and show off their best or favorite works.
Muhlenberg County Public Libraries reserves the right to exclude any artwork that does not meet the guidelines above.
Artwork may be dropped off at Thistle Cottage for inclusion in the Community Art Show.
The Community Art Show will be available for the public to view during regular business hours beginning September 16, but the official grand opening is scheduled to happen during the annual Squash & Gobble festival in downtown Greenville on Saturday, Sept. 21. The public is invited to stop by between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to view the artwork and enjoy light refreshments.
“We thought this would be a good chance for people who normally wouldn’t be able to make it here to come see the artwork,” Waltrip explained, “especially since people will already be in downtown Greenville for Squash & Gobble.
“If you need a break from the heat and the crowds at the festival, you can drop by Thistle Cottage for a drink, a bathroom break, the air conditioning, and, of course, the main attraction: a bunch of fantastic local art.”
Thistle Cottage is also hosting a temporary kids’ art display during Squash & Gobble only. The main Community Art Show is for teens and adults only, but younger children are invited to either submit a piece of artwork in advance or stop by Thistle Cottage during Squash & Gobble to create a piece and add it to the kids’ display. Coloring sheets, blank paper and crayons/coloring pencils will be provided during the event.
The kids’ art display will be posted for about a week following Squash & Gobble and then will be removed, Waltrip said, but the teen/adult show will remain on exhibit through Oct. 25.
Thistle Cottage also hosts a yearly curated Young Artist Showcase in conjunction with the Muhlenberg County Arts Council and a Muhlenberg County High School art show, as well as occasional shows featuring individual artists.
Waltrip said she and her coworkers are currently accepting submissions for the Community Art Show. All artwork must be turned in at Thistle Cottage by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, to be included in the show.
“We’re really hoping for a good turnout … we want everyone to have the chance to be included,” Waltrip said.
In addition to the hours during Squash & Gobble, Thistle Cottage is regularly open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thistle Cottage is located at 122 South Cherry Street in Greenville.
For more information about the Community Art Show, contact Muhlenberg County Public Libraries’ Thistle Cottage at 270-338-4760.
Just to get it straight in my mind, no registration is needed prior to dropping off art works? Will easels be provided? What about displays for jewelry? If items are for sale, can they be marked with a price?
That’s correct, no registration is needed. We will have a form to be filled out when the artwork is dropped out that simply states that we are allowed to borrow and display the artwork for a limited period of time. We will have easels and hooks available for hanging artwork. We are more limited in ways to display jewelry, but we may have an appropriate mannequin-style display for a couple of pieces, depending on what kind of jewelry it is, or we can attach it to a display board. Of course, artists are also welcome to bring their own displays for small pieces such as that, if they’d like. We do prefer that pieces not be marked with a price simply because we cannot sell them on our property and inclusion of a price tag can confuse visitors, but any artists who are interested in selling their work are welcome to include contact info in their biography. That will be displayed along with the artwork so any potential customers will know who to contact to inquire about purchasing.
Thank you for asking!