WMA Announces Artists Selected for ‘B22: Wiregrass Biennial’

WMA announces its selection of 37 works of art from 38 artists from across the Southeast U.S. for its upcoming juried exhibition, B22: Wiregrass Biennial, to open this summer on July 21st at Art After Hours.

The Wiregrass Biennial is a juried exhibition open to all artists living and working in the Southeast over 18 years of age. WMA’s call for artists began in December 2021 for submissions of original work completed within the last three years, and yielded a record number of applications from artists, which were juried by three regional arts professionals: Meredith Lynn, curator of the Museum of Fine Arts and director of Galleries for the College of Fine Arts at Florida State University; Tina Ruggieri, assistant curator at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts; and Daniel White, director of the Paul R. Jones Museum of American Art, and the director of The University Gallery at The University of Alabama.

B22: Wiregrass Biennial is a survey of works being created by artists from across the Southeast region, and the group show strengthens the arts community in the Southeast by bringing regional emerging and established contemporary artists to a local Wiregrass audience. For area residents and visitors, this year’s biennial will continue to build on the museum’s reputation for showcasing work from artists from different backgrounds through diverse mediums – from painting and sculpture, to installation and multimedia, large-scale works, and more – offering visitors the opportunity to learn from and connect with the art and artists of our time. B22: Wiregrass Biennial will be on view at WMA from July 22, 2022 – September 24, 2022, with related public programs with exhibiting artists during that time.

“Past biennials at WMA have brought together incredible artists from across the Southeast, and this year’s exhibition is no exception. WMA’s biennial exhibition consistently creates opportunities for selected artists to meet their peers in the field, leading to new collaborations and projects. And, it’s an exciting and unique experience for our visitors and residents to see so many new contemporary works in one exhibition,” said Dana-Marie Lemmer, WMA’s executive director and curator.

Artists selected for this year’s exhibition include: Pavel Amromin (Panama City, Fla.), Sarah Bryant and Holland Hopson (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), Elton Burgest (Tallahassee, Fla.), Kevin Chadwick (Lynchburg, Va.), Derek Cracco (Vestavia Hills, Ala.), Dariana Dervis (Birmingham, Ala.), Heather Deyling (Atlanta, Ga.), Scott Eakin (Atlanta, Ga.), Karen Graffeo (Birmingham, Ala.), Justin Quaid Grubb (Pensacola, Fla.), Jason Guynes (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), Roscoe Hall (Mountain Brook, Ala.), Erin Harmon (Memphis, Tenn.), Nancy Jane Lee Jones (Port St. Joe, Fla.), Willoughby Lucas Hastings (Huntsville, Ala.), Clarence Heyward (Clayton, N.C.), Josh Hoggle (Birmingham, Ala.), Dale Lewis (Oneonta, Ala.), Mär Martinez (Winter Garden, Fla.), Sophie McVicar (Birmingham, Ala.), Micah Mermilliod (Mobile, Ala.), John “Jahni” Moore (Huntsville, Ala.), Chieko Murasugi (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Jimmy Nicholson (Quincy, Fla.), Tracie Noles-Ross (Birmingham, Ala.), Raymond Padron (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Elisabeth Pellathy (Birmingham, Ala.), Jared Ragland (Columbus, Ga.), David Clayton Robinson (Atlanta, Ga.), Mary Robinson (Columbia, S.C.), Jessica L. Smith (Livingston, Ala.), William Steber (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Sergio Alan Suarez (Atlanta, Ga), Janet Swigler (Columbia, S.C.), Jessica Wohl (Sewanee, Tenn.), Lauren Woods (Opelika, Ala.), Tianxing Xu (Savannah, Ga.).

To encourage artists in their career advancement and studio practice, WMA will provide five cash prizes in 2022 for select artists in the Biennial exhibition: the Judge’s Award ($1,000); the Alabama Award ($1,000),; and three People’s Choice awards. The winners of the Alabama and Judge’s awards will be selected by B22 judge Mario Gallardo, the founder and executive director for the Walnut Gallery, a contemporary art gallery, in Gadsden, Alabama. Mario Gallardo is also the division chair of Fine Arts at Gadsden State Community College. The People’s Choice Award will be decided through in-person voting by the public from the exhibition’s opening date through September 24. In addition to the $1,000 prize for the work that receives the most votes, a second and third place prize of $500 will provide additional financial support to artists. The awards are intended to give artists funding to continue to advance their careers and artistic practice in a way determined best by them.

For more information about WMA’s annual arts programming and exhibition schedule, visit wiregrassmuseum.org, or call (334)794-3871.