Artists are invited to exhibit, compete, participate and sell at CenterFest 2020, an art festival taking place April 3-5, 2020 at The Center for Arts and Sciences. Located at the front of the beautiful wooded campus of Brazosport College at 400 College Blvd. in Clute, Texas, The Center is home to theater, art, science, and music all approximately 8 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Included within the facilities is the Brazosport Museum of Natural Science, the BASF Planetarium, the Freeport LNG Theater, the Dow Arena Theater, an art studio and an art gallery.
“Futures Imagined” was chosen as this year’s CenterFest theme, according to executive director, Wes Copeland, to engage artists in the vision of The Center for the Arts & Sciences. This theme asks artists to explore the possibilities in the evolution of technology, nature, and humanity along with how elemental aspects of our existence shift due to new information and advancements in discovery. The theme complements the longstanding artistic history and mission of The Center which includes the establishment of the community theater in 1943 (also noted as the regions longest continuously operated theater), the Art League in 1955, The Natural Science museum in the 1960s along with the Planetarium in 1984.
“At The Center, we offer our visitors the opportunity to experience visual art displays, educational activities and exhibits exploring the natural sciences on a daily basis,” says Copeland. “We believe that everyone should have access to quality arts and science-based experiences because of their power to transform an individual’s perspective and world-view.” The exhibits at The Center’s natural science museum provide up-close artifacts of life forms and histories that might have otherwise been unknown to the visitor. Further, art allows visitors to see that world through the perspective of the artist. “We celebrate the transformative power of art and science. The Center is unique in that it provides space for art and science to intersect,” Copeland continued. “We are actively recruiting artists for CenterFest who want to help us both celebrate and examine that intersection and explore the ways art and science transform our lives.”
“This community values both the arts and our natural environment,” says Center director of communications, Patty Sayes. “Science-driven industries provide the economic backbone of this community. And this area was chosen specifically because of its natural resources. Environmental stewardship is a value embedded within the community.” Sayes goes on to say, “We are working to make participation beneficial to the artists by offering considerable cash prizes, enhanced publicity and a juror panel of respected figures in the art world.”
ARTIST APPLICATION INFORMATION
Artists are invited to participate by applying for a 10’x10’ booth space to fill with their original art, including painting, photography, sculpture, or other media. Entries will be selected by a high-profile panel of jurors from in and around the Greater Houston area. Cash prizes totaling over $2,000 will be awarded to the artists with the best exhibits and to those most creatively exemplifying this year’s theme. Artists can sell their work with zero commission going to the event organizers. A $25 application fee is required for submission via Zapplication (www.bcfas.org/centerfest), along with a $75 booth fee, which includes access to electricity (wattage limits apply). The festival space will be secured with perimeter fencing and professional security guards will be hired to protect the exhibits overnight during the festival. Artists should consider the possibility of inclement weather when planning their exhibits. The booth fee will be waived if the artist submits an original piece for the event’s silent auction, minimum 12” x 12” (x 12”). Deadline for applying is March 1st, 2020.
