July 10 event ‘all about the art’

• By GREG LANGLEY
• News Features assistant editor
• Published: Jul 5, 2009

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

“It’s all about the art,” Chris Brooks said of the 6th annual Art Melt at the Shaw Center’s Brunner Gallery.

Brooks is a member of the event’s sponsoring organization, Forum 35, group of young leaders dedicated to building a better and more progressive Baton Rouge through embracing diversity; promoting arts, entertainment and recreation; and encouraging political involvement, volunteerism and community pride.

“That is the whole premise of the event — to promote the awareness. It’s about the art,” Brooks said.

He is busy practicing what he preaches along with Christen Losey-Gregg, a fellow Forum 35 member who is also working to promote the event.

Art Melt is one of the largest juried art shows in the area, drawing more than 600 entries this year, Losey-Gregg said. The entry process requires artists to submit a photo of their artwork along with a description.

“After all the submissions come in, they are each assigned random numbers,” Losey-Gregg said.

Then, “the jurors pare it down to 75 pieces for the show,” she said. Then the selected artists ship the actual works to the jurors.
“Of those pieces, when they arrive here on the 9th, the jurors will pick the top three,” Losey-Gregg said.

“There will be a Forum 35 Award. That’s new for this year. We haven’t done a Forum 35 Award in the past. It will be chosen by the Art Melt Committee,” Losey-Gregg said. “The Art Melt Committee will look at those 75 choices and pick the one that we like as our top choice.

“There will also be a Brunner Gallery Award and a Country Roads Magazine Award,” Losey-Gregg said. “The winner of the Forum 35 Award, their piece will be featured on our commemorative poster (for next year’s show).”

The winners will be announced on Thursday, July 9, at an Art Melt Preview Party featuring The Iguanas from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Brunner Gallery in the Shaw Center for the Arts. Tickets for the party are $50 per person and can be obtained by calling Manship Theatre at (225) 344-0334.

Brooks is particularly proud that Forum 35 was able to incorporate the Boys and Girls Club Art Show at Lyceum Dean into this year’s Art Melt.

“We had been wondering how we could incorporate children (into the event),” he said.

“To make it a more family inviting event,” Losey-Gregg added.