Experience the political fervor of this year’s election season. The contest, sponsored by William P. Cook and Associates and the El Dorado News-Times, includes 41 entries by single and collaborative artists with divisions for Adult and Students Grades 9-12. The cartoons will be on exhibition Monday – Friday, 9am to 5pm, in the SAAC’s Lobby Gallery through October 27.

Cash awards will be given for the first three places selected by the judge in each division, as well as Best of Show. Ronnie Bell, General Manager of the El Dorado News-Times, will select one piece from the exhibit for the Editor’s Choice Award, which will afford the winner a cash prize. In addition to the Editor’s Choice Award, Bell will select his favorite cartoons for publication in the News-Times. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, Bell holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing.

Dr. Jay Barth from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, is serving as judge for this year’s contest. Dr. Barth received his PhD in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has spent his entire teaching career at Hendrix. “I grew up with a daily dose of the political cartoons of George Fisher, the long-time cartoonist for the Arkansas Gazette,” he said.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information about the contest, please call the SAAC office or visit the website at www.saac-arts.org.