University Open Prize Winners
Announced

Students from University of Louisville and University of Kentucky take top three prizes.

LEXINGTON, KY., April 18, 2006 – Julie Leidner, a senior at the University of Louisville, was awarded first prize in the inaugural University Open, a juried competition between undergraduate fine arts students at colleges and universities in Kentucky. Untitled (Elliott) (see image at bottom), an oil painting on canvas, earned Ms. Leidner the top prize of $500.

Second prize and $300 went to University of Kentucky senior Libby Purcell for her color photograph entitled Military Jacket . Another UK senior, Michael Martinez, was awarded third and $100 for his sculpture, Cargo .

The University Open was part of the Best of the Bluegrass, a week-long festival of the arts and culture of Kentucky that concluded on Saturday.

The exhibition is open to the public at no cost and will continue at ArtsPlace, 161 N. Mill St., through June 4. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon until 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. A color catalogue of the exhibit will soon be available for purchase.

Thirty-three finalists were chosen from 190 entries representing 11 public and private colleges in the state. The final selections and winners were juried by Julien Robson, curator of contemporary art at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville.

“These are obviously artists who actively respond to the world they live in and who use the aesthetic to engage the real,” said Robson. “They are artists who understand the power of art to disturb our complacency and they use it to reveal the fictions that surround us.”

“This was a great opportunity for the fine arts students in our state to showcase their talent and have it assessed by an internationally respected curator and educator,” said James M. Clark, president and CEO of LexArts. “For the next two months, it's also an opportunity for the public to have a first look at some of our rising stars.”

The other finalists and their schools are: Carla Brunsell, Berea College; Cassandra Jean Lewis, Eastern Kentucky University; Amber Bridges, Georgetown College; Erin Fletcher, Ryan Harper, Hillary Harrison, Natalie Richards and Jonathan Stich, University of Louisville; Steven Rodgers, Morehead State University; Savannah Jarman, Northern Kentucky University; Ali Murray and Sarah Walker, Transylvania University; Cara Dee Grandy, Kristina Griesshaber, Ryan Habeeb, Caitlin Heinz, Matthew Herron, Rachael Kerley, Andrew McCawley, Michelle McGeary, Brandon Nicholas, Eric Rickert, Cassie Stokes, James Ryan Summers, David Tucker, Catherine Van Kempen and Matt Wiseman, University of Kentucky, and Michael Davis, Jacob Isenhour and Sara Truman, Western Kentucky University.

Please visit www.LexArts.org or call 859-255-2951 for more information.

* * *
LexArts is Central Kentucky's premier cultural development, advocacy and fund-raising organization. Its programs provide the resources necessary to ensure high quality arts and cultural offerings for residents and visitors, enhancing the quality of life in the region.

As both the area arts council and arts fund, LexArts provides a wide range of programs and services designed to integrate the arts into our daily lives, including Dynamic Doors, Horse Mania, the quarterly Gallery Hop, ArtScene and Weekend for the Arts. LexArts was formed in July 1989 by the merger of the Lexington Council of the Arts (founded in 1972) and the Fund for the Arts (founded in 1984). LexArts services arts organizations, artists, and educational institutions.