The longest running visual arts exhibit in Dare County, The Frank Stick Memorial Art Show, will open at Dare County Arts Council for its 40th year on Saturday, January 27, 2018 at 6pm.
Frank Stick was an illustrator who produced work and cover art for Field and Stream, Outdoor America, Colliers, Sports Afield, and The Saturday Evening Post. He moved to the Outer Banks in 1929 and was instrumental in the establishment of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and the Wright Brothers National Memorial. On top of being a preservationist, Stick was also a watercolorist who focused on marine life, specifically fish.
In 1978 the Frank Stick Memorial Art Show became Dare County Arts Council’s first full-fledged, annual exhibition. The show has had multiple homes, including the Manteo library, Glenn Eure’s Ghost Fleet Gallery, and Dare County Arts Council’s Gallery in the historic Dare County Courthouse in downtown Manteo.
“I remember Don Bryan and I hanging Arts Council shows in the Manteo library for a few years before this show, which was then moved to Glenn’s Ghost Fleet Gallery and named in honor of Frank Stick,” said Steve Andrus, who was one of the 12 exhibiting artists in the inaugural Frank Stick Memorial Art Show. “I’m glad that the community still has a show for the local artists to show in.”
The Frank Stick Memorial Art Show was held at Dare County Arts Council for the first time since its inception in January 2017. The 2017 show had almost 100 entries from DCAC members and record attendance of over 300 people at the opening reception. Dare County Arts Council named the Eure Best in Show award after Glenn and Pat Eure for their many years of hosting The Frank Stick Memorial Art Show and supporting the arts in Dare County.
Artists wishing to participate in this year’s show must be members of DCAC and aged 18 or older. Memberships can be renewed when artists drop off their artwork on Tuesday, January 23 or Wednesday, January 24 between 10am and 5pm at the DCAC Gallery, located at 300 Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Manteo, NC 27954.
A prospectus can be found here and at the DCAC Gallery.
Charlottesville, VA based artist Sharon Shapiro will judge the show.
“I’m honored to be the juror for the longest running visual art exhibition in Dare County, and more importantly for something that keeps the memory of visionary Frank Stick alive in the community,” said artist Sharon Shapiro. “I’m very excited to see the wide range of work submitted and look forward to visiting the Outer Banks and meeting new artists.”
Shapiro’s figurative paintings and works on paper have been included in collections at The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA), the American Pavilion Library, and the Tullman Collection in Chicago, IL and have been exhibited in numerous venues including shows in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and London. She is a past recipient of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship, holds a BFA from the Atlanta College of Art, and is a 2019 Candidate for an MFA in Painting from Maine College of Art (MECA).
The show will remain on display at the DCAC Gallery through Saturday, February 24.
For more information about The Frank Stick Memorial Art Show, please call 252 473 5558 or click here.