Arts in the Airport Entry Information
Arts in the Airport Exhibition
Entries due by midnight on Sunday, September 8, 2024
On display October 22, 2024 through April 2025 (end date TBA) at McGhee Tyson Airport, Knoxville, TN
Please find the online entry form at the bottom of the page.
Statement of Purpose
For the past fifteen years, the Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville and the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (McGhee Tyson Airport) have partnered to present a biannual exhibition entitled “Arts in the Airport”. This juried exhibition was developed to allow regional artists to compete and display work in the most visited site in the area. The selected art features contemporary 2- and 3-dimensional artwork.
About the Exhibition Space
Approximately 40-45 works will comprise the exhibition. Work is displayed on eight 8’ x 8’ walls and in five display cases in the secured area behind the security gate checkpoint at the airport, and it is available for viewing only by visitors flying in or out of the airport. However, artists and their guests may view the exhibition during the opening reception/awards ceremony and by appointment with Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (McGhee Tyson Airport) staff. The concourse windows near the exhibition space have 3M Window Films which reduce the effects of solar heat and visible light on furnishings and will block up to 99% of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.
Juror
Also a practicing artist working in historic photographic processes, hand papermaking, and book arts, Heather F. Wetzel is currently the Galleries & Collections Manager at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Here she manages a robust exhibition schedule for four rotating galleries, including the Arrowmont Gallery in Knoxville, as well as the permanent collection which consists of over 1,000 works in a variety of arts and crafts media. She has held positions as the Director of the Meadows Museum of Art and Instructor of Art at Centenary College of Louisiana; Assistant Professor, Head of BFA and MFA Photography Programs at Memphis College of Art in Memphis; Senior Lecturer in the Art Department, and Book Arts Specialist at Logan Elm Press at The Ohio State University where she was the 2011-2012 Post MFA Fergus Family Fellow in Photography. She earned her Master of Arts & Humanities from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania, and her Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York. Before to coming to The Ohio State University, she completed the University of Iowa Center for the Book Graduate Certificate in Book Arts Technologies in 2011. https://www.heatherfwetzel.com/
Awards
A $500 Best of Show and two $250 Awards of Merit will be given as designated by the juror, whose decision is final. The airport and the juror reserve the right to disqualify any work not suitably presented or that varies from the submitted image.
Sales & Commission
Every effort is made to promote sales, including via an online shop at www.knoxalliance.store. WORK MUST BE FOR SALE and will remain on exhibition if it sells. All sales are handled by the Arts & Culture Alliance. A 25% commission (20% for cash/check sales) will be split between McGhee Tyson Airport and the Arts & Culture Alliance. To operate in accordance with the Tennessee Department of Revenue guidelines, the Alliance will add sales tax to the price of each work that sells from the airport and for which it collects payment.
Eligibility and Size Requirements
This exhibition is open to all artists 18 years and older residing in the 33 counties of East Tennessee: Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Cumberland, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea, Roane, Scott, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, Union, and Washington.
Artists must be individual members of the Arts & Culture Alliance by the entry deadline. Anyone may join! See www.knoxalliance.com/join-renew.
Entries must be original works in the following categories: Painting (oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, alcohol ink, digital, and mixed media); Graphic Arts (pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, conte, colored pencil, and printmaking); Photography (color, black and white, digital); 3‐D (hanging or free‐standing: sculpture, ceramic, fibers, etc); and Fine Craft Objects (basketry, weaving, etc). Giclees are ineligible. Electricity is not available. Artwork created in whole or in part using any artificial intelligence system is not eligible.
+ 2-D Works: The maximum allowed size is 60” x 60” in any direction including frame or stand. Weight is not to exceed 50 lbs. WORKS MUST BE SUITABLY FRAMED/MOUNTED AND WIRED FOR INSTALLATION. CANVAS EDGES MUST BE FINISHED. Highly fragile materials, works on paper, and fiber-based or other works that are not sealed should be properly protected and framed behind glass or Plexi. These requirements are included because work is hanging in an area of high traffic for six months.
+ 3-D Works: Five display cases are available for free-standing works: four are 20” cubed and one is 26” cubed. The display cases sit on pedestals 40” tall. WORK SHOULD BE ABLE TO STAND SECURELY IN THE CASE, AS IT IS DISPLAYED IN AN AREA OF HIGH TRAFFIC FOR SIX MONTHS.
Entry Procedure
There is no entry fee for individual members of the Arts & Culture Alliance. If you are not a member, please visit www.knoxalliance.com/join-renew to join for one year. (If you are unsure of your membership status, please call 865-523-7543).
Diptychs and triptychs are considered one work. Works are juried by digital image only. Each 2-D work should be represented by one digital image with an additional detail image if appropriate (texture, surface embellishment, mixed media, etc.); each 3-D work may be represented by up to three digital images.
Upload digital images as files identified with entry form number (A-E) and title of work (example: A.Title.jpg). Image size is ideally 1600 pixels on the longest side. Uploaded images must be JPEG, JPG, or PNG files and may not exceed 5 MB in size.
2024-2025 Schedule
Entry forms, images, and fees received by: midnight on Sunday, September 8, 2024
Acceptance notification sent: Friday, September 27, 2024
Hand delivery date to the airport: Tuesday, October 22, between 9-11 AM
Exhibition installed / opens to the public: Tuesday, October 22
Reception and Awards Ceremony: TBA
Last day of exhibition: Anticipated to be April 2025, TBA
Pick-up work from the airport: TBA
**No work is released before the end of the show.
Deliver accepted artwork to: Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport*, 2055 Alcoa Highway, Alcoa, TN 37701
*Detailed directions will be given prior to delivery date.
Liability
Receipt of the completed form constitutes your agreement with all conditions established in the prospectus. The Arts & Culture Alliance provides $10,000 insurance for the entire exhibition. Unclaimed hand-delivered work is not insured after the posted pick-up date. Artists whose works are accepted for exhibition will be requested to submit a photograph and resume/biography upon notification of acceptance. The Alliance and the Airport reserve the right to use artist information and images for exhibition, publicizing the event, and/or on the Web sites at www.knoxalliance.com, www.knoxalliance.store, and flyknoxville.com. Consent to reproduce works photographically is assumed to be granted unless stated otherwise.
About the Arts & Culture Alliance
The Arts & Culture Alliance serves and supports a diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions. The Alliance receives financial support from the Tennessee Arts Commission: www.tnartscommission.org.
HOW TO ENTER – 2 EASY STEPS
These two steps must be done separately – please make the payment, THEN fill out the form, OR VICE VERSA. Thank you!
1) Please make a secure card payment via Stripe at https://buy.stripe.com, or scan the QR code below, for the $78 membership fee* if you are not currently a member. Membership is for one year.
*I don’t have the funds to pay for membership, so I’ll pay what I can.
Accepted payment types include debit and credit cards.
2) Return to this page to complete the entry form below and upload your images. Be sure to click the submit button at the end of the form.
Uploaded images must be JPEG, JPG, or PNG files and may not exceed 5 MB in size. After you successfully upload an image, the file name will appear on the form. If you need to replace the image, click on the “Delete” link next to the file name.
Upon successful submission of the entry form, you will receive a copy to the e-mail address you provided (and this page will refresh).