Gallery Arts Announces 2025 Jurors
The 68th Annual Edmonds Arts Festival, to be held June 13-15, has announced its jurors for the 2025 Gallery Arts portion of the Festival, which includes three galleries inside the Frances Anderson Center. Jurors select Gallery Arts participants, and will award $10,000 in prizes across all categories. According to Gallery Arts Co-directors Janet Jensen and Melissa Wadsworth, this year’s EAF jurors are:
Amanda Houston: Paintings, Watercolor, Pastel
Molly Murrah Prints, Drawings, Mixed Media 2D, Miniatures and Small Paintings
Stephanie Hargrave: Sculpture, Artisan Works and Small Artisan Works
Tim Davis: Photography and Digital Art
Click here to view juror biographies and their artwork.
“Juror selection is really the kick-off of the Festival year for us. Each year we aim to select jurors with a depth of experience that ensures we’ll have a great selection of high-quality art for our galleries during the Festival. Coming from diverse backgrounds and style preferences, and active in their art communities, these jurors are clearly dedicated to the arts in the Northwest,” said Jensen.
According to Jensen, the Paintings Juror Amanda Houston will have to review nearly a thousand entries and refine the field to the best 250. Houston is a contemporary impressionist who works primarily in pastel and is the current President and Signature member of the NW Pastel Society, as well as a Master’s Circle Member of the International Association of Pastel Societies. For many years she has been represented by the Cole Gallery in Edmonds, Scott Milo in Anacortes, and Valley Art in Forest Grove, OR. She lives in the Willamette Valley foothills, and leads art classes and creativity retreats.
With the most diverse range of work to review, Molly Murrah will juror the Mixed Media 2D, Drawing, Printmaking, Miniatures and Small Paintings categories. Murrah is an experienced watercolor artist and graphic designer, who has lived and worked in the Seattle area since 1982. A Signature Member of the Northwest Watercolor Society, Molly has served various roles for the organization including being its President twice. Molly says of her own art focus, “If I create an engaging composition with harmonious colors, dramatic contrast between lights and darks, and establish a mood or feeling that engages the viewer, then I have succeeded in my artistic expression.”
Sculpture and Artisan Works juror Stephanie Hargrave has been painting and working in clay since college. She has shown her work worldwide in cities that include, Seattle, Minneapolis, San Luis Obispo, Santa Fe, Brooklyn, Atlanta, and Stockholm. She has had 21 solo shows and participated in over 100 group shows. She says about her creative focus, “Over the years, my concerns have been revealed to me through my artwork. During long hours of making art, I become aware of what matters most.” Hargrave has a studio in Pioneer Square’s Art District where she makes encaustic paintings, clay/encaustic sculpture and works on paper, all inspired by biology.
The Photography and Digital Art categories juror is award-winning landscape photographer Tim Davis, based in Kingston, WA. His photography is inspired by the areas’s natural beauty found in landscapes, ferry crossings, and local wildlife. He has recently begun a series of close-up photographs of boat hulls in various stages of refurbishment, that have a more abstract quality. “The colors of rust, of grinding down old layers, and new paint applications are amazing and original” he stated.
Two Calls for Artists
There are TWO different Call-for-Artists this year that artists can enter. Both Calls are currently open for artist submissions until April 15, 2025. For more information go to: www.edmondsartsfestival.com/festival-applications.
Call 1 is for Main Gallery paintings, watercolor, pastel, sculpture and artisan works, as well as photography and digital art submissions.
Call 2 is for the Small Works Marketplace of miniatures, small paintings and small artisan works. Artists are advised to go to the Festival website to read the full prospectuses prior to entry.
The 68th Edmonds Arts Festival will take place June 13-15, 202s, at the Frances Anderson Center in Edmonds. It is one of the longest running art festivals in the Northwest and draws more than 30,000 visitors to view 2D and 3D artwork displayed in three galleries. Each year, Gallery Arts showcases juried art from more than 400 regional artists.
Edmonds has the distinction of being Washington State’s first Certified Creative District for its unified recognition of the importance of the arts across all sectors. Every artwork purchased at the Edmonds Arts Festival helps to fund scholarships and grants for community art projects and public art.
Learn more about what there is to see and do at edmondsartsfestival.com.