SAAC celebrates the Winners of the 2026 biennial Juried Art Competition. Congratulations to the Artisits!

SAAC is pleased to announce the winners of its biennial Juried Art Competition, held throughout June and featuring recent work by artists from across the country. The competition offered artists an opportunity to have their work selected for exhibition by a nationally recognized leader in the contemporary art world.

The competition concluded with a closing reception featuring this year’s juror, nationally recognized artist and curator Teresa Booth Brown, who presented $2,000 in awards to the winning artists. Brown, who has been a teaching artist since 1985 and most recently served with the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, selected the exhibition and traveled to El Dorado to present the awards and meet with participating artists, patrons and members of the community.

Best of Show was awarded to Annika Schenk for El Dorado AR Temperature Blanket, an acrylic-yarn crocheted blanket documenting a year of daily temperatures in El Dorado, Arkansas in 2023. Each row represents a single day, creating a visual timeline in which shifting colors reflect the natural rhythms of the seasons.

First Place went to Kevin Seymore of Felsenthal, Arkansas, for Portrait of Unk, an oil on canvas. Second Place was awarded to Steve Spencer of Little Rock, Arkansas, for Headphones, a sculptural work incorporating acrylic paint on foam core, canvas, fishing line, alien tape and shellac. Third Place went to Dominique Simmons of Little Rock, Arkansas, for Flask, a collograph piece.

The Purchase Award was presented to Elizabeth Weber of Little Rock, Arkansas, for Hiraeth, a fiber artwork created using needle-felted wool, wool, silkworm cocoons, embroidery floss, silk, beads, and various fibers and threads. The piece has been acquired for the South Arkansas Arts Center’s permanent art collection.

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Aneesah Rahmaan of Little Rock, Arkansas, for Urban Playground; Lisa Krannichfeld of Little Rock, Arkansas, for Be Everything At All Moments; Daniele Lorio of Rockville, Maryland, for Spying on the Gottlieb; Hannah Davis of Saint Petersburg, Florida, for Table for One; and Jenie Gao of Madison, Wisconsin/Vancouver, British Columbia, for Three Generations Happy Family.

SAAC congratulates all of the artists who participated in this year’s Juried Art Competition and thanks Brown for her time, expertise and thoughtful selection of the exhibition.

The South Arkansas Arts Center will host its next Juried Art Competition in June 2028. For more information, contact SAAC at 870-862-5474 or info@saac-arts.org.

The exhibition, which featured 48 artists representing 12 states, was a highly diverse collection of contemporary artwork and offered visitors a unique opportunity to experience a wide range of artistic voices and perspectives. Artists from across the county broadened the scope of the exhibition, creating a collection that reflects both regional talent and a national artistic presence.

Artist include Dave Rollins, Seattle, Wash.; Fernando Carpaneda, Freeport, N.Y.; Jaden La Rocque, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Daniele Lorio, Rockville, Md.; Ann Marie Fitzsimmons, Freehold, N.J.; Carol Foerster, Gettysburg, Pa.; Tim Magenta, Philadelphia, Pa.; Jenie Gao, Madison, Wis./Vancouver British Columbia; Hannah Davis, Saint Petersburg, Fla.; Chunlei Qian, Prospect, Ky.; Sharon Harper, Springfield, Mo.; John Thomasson, Lubbock, Texas; Donna Wolfe, Livingston, Texas; Blair Augillard, New Orleans, La.; Mia Simmons, Slidell, La.; Lemon Burnside and Emily Ezell of Ruston, La.

Arkansas artist represented in the exhibition include Rashawn Penister and Jonathan Wright of Pine Bluff, Cheryl Rogers of Hot Springs, James Volkert of Conway, Jennifer Baugh of Fayetteville, Mandy Mooneyham of Paragould, as well as Gary Cawood, Susan Chambers, John Goodwin, Rene Hein, Lisa Krannichfeld, Tze Sheung Lam, Donna Pinckley, Aneesah Rahmaan, Judith Redditt, Dominique Simmons, Steve Spencer, and Elizabeth Weber of Little Rock.

Also included were artists Erin Johnston of Norphlet, Michael Preble of Camden, Kevin Seymore of Felsenthal, Tom Richard of Monticello, and Marion Dunn of Hampton. Represented El Dorado were artists Taebriunna Bartee, Gay Bechtelheimer, Cherie Bright, Brandon Dearing, Angel Leveritt, Brandi Parker, Annika Schenk, and Ann Trimble.