Bellingham National 2017 Juried Art Exhibition and Awards

Juror: Catharina Manchanda, Jon and Mary Shirley Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seattle Art Museum

Works by artists for whom drawing is an integral part of their practice. Submissions may be connected to ideas of language, writing, notation, mapping, movement, dance, performance, as well as connections to space and architecture. Drawing practices may involve traditional or non-traditional materials, and can include time-based and site-specific installations or performances. 

The flood of images disseminated on the internet, and with it the attendant information overload, invite renewed attention to drawing as a comparably “slow” medium. Traditionally tied to the conception and development of ideas, drawing remained the stepchild to the more durable mediums of painting and sculpture well into the 1960s. The subsequent interest in process and fragment rather than the finished product allowed drawing to assume a far more influential position. In our contemporary moment, drawing practices warrant particular attention as they open new avenues for artistic thought and expression, especially vis-à-vis digital modes of communication and information sharing.

Exhibition overview from museum website