FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

July 8, 2019 (Bethesda, MD) – The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and the Bethesda Urban Partnership will showcase the work of The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards eight finalists in a group exhibition.

2019 Trawick Prize Finalists

Stephanie Benassi, Linden, VA
Hoesy Corona, Baltimore, MD
Oletha DeVane Ellicott City, MD
Muriel Hasbun, Silver Spring, MD
Monroe Isenberg, Washington, D.C.
Renée Rendine, Towson, MD
Mojdeh Rezaeipour, Vienna, VA
Anne Clare Rogers, Baltimore, MD

The exhibit will be on display Sept. 4 – 28, 2019 at Gallery B, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E. The award winners will be announced the week of September 2, 2019. The Best in Show, first place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000.

The public opening reception will be held Friday, September 13 from 6-8pm. Gallery hours for the duration of the exhibit are Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 6pm.

The 2019 Trawick Prize jurors are Jonathan Monaghan, Assistant Professor of Digital Art & Studio Art Advisor at Catholic University and former Trawick Prize Winner; Foon Sham, Artist and Professor of Sculpture, University of Maryland; and Sue Wrbican, Associate Professor of Photography & Director of Photography Program, George Mason University.

Founded by Carol Trawick in 2003, the regional competition is one of the largest prizes to annually honor visual artists. Ms. Trawick, a longtime community activist in downtown Bethesda, also established the Bethesda Painting Awards in 2005. She has served as the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Strathmore and the Maryland State Arts Council. She founded the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation in 2007 to assist health and human services and arts non-profits in Montgomery County. The Foundation has awarded grants to more than 90 nonprofits in Montgomery County and funds the annual Trawick Prize and the Bethesda Painting Awards.

To date, The Trawick Prize has awarded more than $220,000 in prize monies and has exhibited the work of more than 135 regional artists. Previous Best in Show recipients include Richard Clever, 2003; David Page, 2004; Jiha Moon, 2005; James Rieck, 2006; Jo Smail, 2007; Maggie Michael, 2008; Rene Trevino, 2009; Sara Pomerance, 2010; Mia Feuer, 2011; Lillian Bayley Hoover, 2012; Gary Kachadourian, 2013; Neil Feather, 2014; Jonathan Monaghan, 2015; Lauren Adams, 2016; Larry Cook, 2017 and Caroline Hatfield, 2018.

For more information, please visit www.bethesda.org or call 301-215-6660.

From award-winning theatre to independent films, downtown Bethesda’s Arts & Entertainment District is filled with inspiring artists and art venues. The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is managed by the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc., and is the producer of The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, Bethesda Painting Awards, Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Awards, Bethesda Film Fest and Play In A Day.

Established by Montgomery County in 1994, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. (BUP) is a downtown management organization that markets and maintains downtown Bethesda. The BUP team works in marketing, maintenance, transportation and administration to produce cultural events and community festivals and attend to landscaping and maintenance needs. BUP also manages Bethesda Transportation Solutions (BTS), the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, and the Bethesda Circulator as well as the non-profit art spaces, Gallery B, Studio B and Triangle Art Studios. For a closer look, please visit www.bethesda.org.

For more information:

Laura Kellermann, 301/215-6660, Ext. 116
Stephanie Coppula, 301/215-6660, Ext. 120