WORDS / ARKANSAS ARTS COUNCIL 

The Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of Arkansas Heritage, invites Arkansas artists to enter the 2022 Small Works on Paper juried, touring art exhibition. Artwork must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. Friday, July 23.

“Small Works on Paper is an opportunity for artists from all over our state to showcase their extraordinary talents and unique perspectives,” said Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. “Our exhibition, which helps give individual artists a platform to thrive in Arkansas, has been held annually for 35 years. Each year, Small Works on Paper travels to nine different locations statewide to give Arkansans a chance to experience artworks they may never get the chance to see otherwise.”

Visit our website at www.arkansasarts.org to submit work online.

Small Works on Paper is a competitive visual art exhibition showcasing artwork no larger than 18-by-24 inches by artists who are members of the Arkansas Artist Registry. The Arkansas Artist Registry is an online gallery featuring the artwork of Arkansas artists. Membership to the Arkansas Artist Registry is free and open to all Arkansas artists ages 18 and up.

An out-of-state juror selects a maximum of 40 pieces of artwork to tour with the exhibition. Up to $2,000 will be available for juror-selected, purchase awards. Artwork selected as a purchase award will be purchased at the price listed by the artist at the time of entry. The artwork will become part of the SWOP permanent collection.

Arkansas artists may enter up to three works of art on paper for a fee of $15 for the first entry, $20 for two entries or $25 for three entries. Works must have been completed within the last two years. Artists whose work is selected for the exhibition will be notified in September 2021. The 2022 exhibition will open at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock.

The 2022 juror is Ronald Jackson, a visual artist with a focus on portraits and figurative works. Born and raised in Helena, in the Delta, Jackson now lives and works in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He has had work in many solo and group exhibitions, including Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas; Art Basel in Miami; and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri. His work is part of the permanent collection at Crystal Bridges and the Nerman Museum.

For more information, contact Cheri Leffew at (501) 324-9767 or cheri.leffew@arkansas.gov. 

About the Arkansas Arts Council

The Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of Arkansas Heritage, advances the arts in Arkansas by providing services and supporting arts endeavors that encourage and assist literary, performing and visual artists in achieving standards of professional excellence. In addition, the Arkansas Arts Council provides technical and financial assistance to Arkansas arts organizations and other providers of cultural and educational programs. Other agencies are the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Arkansas State Archives, Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Historic Arkansas Museum, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and the Old State House Museum. Funding for the Arkansas Arts Council and its programs is provided by the State of Arkansas and the National Endowment for the Arts. Arkansas Heritage is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.