The South Arkansas Arts Center welcomes the 151st Annual International Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society. The watercolors will be on exhibit in the Price and Merkle Galleries October 6-30. The AWS traveling exhibition is sponsored by Richard Wharton, in memory of his parents, Frances and Wayne Wharton. Showing in the Lobby Gallery will be Sherman, Texas, acrylics artist Beth Hubbert. Her show, “In Living Color, Moments and Memories”, will run October 6-30, as well. An artist’s reception is planned for this Saturday, October 6, from 6:00-7:30pm in the Price and Merkle Galleries.

The American Watercolor Society’s annual exhibition is one of the most revered watercolor exhibits in the world. More than 1,100 artists from throughout the United States and 27 foreign countries submit their work to a panel of jurors chosen from Signature Members of the AWS. Of these submissions, 150 paintings are selected for the exhibition. Forty paintings from the show are selected for the Traveling Exhibition, which tours six museums and galleries across the country in California, Texas, Florida, and Tennessee during the next year, with SAAC being the only scheduled exhibit in Arkansas . While inclusion in this exhibition is itself an honor, participants also compete for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals of Honor, and 29 other awards and medals totaling nearly $50,000 in prize money.