‘Naturally Diverse’

While the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum was going through a transition phase, one of its most popular events was put on hold. As of January, the museum is back, and as of July 18, so is the River Valley Invitational.

With a reception at the museum’s new location on Rogers Avenue, the staff there debuted a collection of about 40 works culled from more than 100 entries. The response from the artistic community - and to the works they contributed - was strong, says Lee Ortega, the museum’s director.

“I really feel like artists were waiting for the show (to return),” Ortega says.

For decades, museum staff organized the River Valley Invitational, a combined contest and exhibit that pulled heavily from Arkansas artists. About four years ago, the museum moved out of its longtime home in the Vaughn-Schaap House to start work on a new location. After several years and about $3 million of renovation work, the museum opened in a former Arvest Bank branch that was donated by the financial institution.

The contest was open to any artist who submitted a work and an entry free. The theme of the invitational is “Naturally Diverse Arkansas,” and works showcase many of the sights of the Natural State. All media were accepted, and that indeed yielded a diverse set of works, Ortega says. Among those currently on display at the museum are landscapes, of course, but also pastels, sculpture and a large-scale installation.

Winners of the contest wereannounced during the July 18 reception and unveiling. First place went to Carol Dickie of Eureka Springs for her watercolor and charcoal work “Tethered”; second place was awarded to Dede Hutcheson of Fort Smith for the oil-oncanvas “Mount Magazine”;

third place was Eureka Springs artist Ron Lutz’s pinhole photograph “Bluffs”; and an honorable mention award was granted to Jason Sacran of Lavaca for his entry “Beaver Lake Cove,” an oil painting on canvas. Prizes worth $1,500 were given to the first- and second-place winners.

Tammy Harrington, associate professor of art at the University of the Ozarks and an artist in her own right, was one of three jurists for the competition.

She praised the works collected in the exhibit for creating a sense of experiencing these places, even if they were not locations she specifically recognized.

“They were able to transform the experience for the viewer,” she says.

Speaking of the winningentry, Harrington says she enjoyed how it changed the audience’s perspective. It shows a group of houses clustered around a water source. But it’s not exactly a pastoral view of a lakeside home; the scene is viewed from above.

“I thought that was a really interesting twist,” Harrington says.

The exhibit will be visible through Sept. 1. During that time, the museum will, as a way to introduce visitors to the new home, be free for the public to attend.