Three artists were honored as Merit Award winners, including the Exceptional First-Time Clothesline Art Festival Exhibitor, at the Annual M&T Bank Clothesline Art Festival, held September 7th and 8th at the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester. Winners were chosen from over 300 artists from across the country for the awards, which recognize extraordinary quality, craftsmanship, creativity, and/or outstanding presentation.
The 2024 Merit Awards Winners are:
- Justin Winters (HBT Woodworks), Scottsville, NY
- Bill Mowson (Fingerlake Footprints), Lansing, NY
Exceptional First-Time Clothesline Art Festival Exhibitor:
- Dia Haffar (Smoke Pail Studios), Pompey, NY
A big thank you to the judges’ panel for the M&T Bank Clothesline Art Festival Merit Awards, including Director Emeritus of the Memorial Art Gallery Grant Holcomb, Associate Professor of Industrial Design at Rochester Institute of Technology, and Designer/Artist/Design Strategist Mindy Magyar, Artist and Activist Shawn Dunwoody, Printmaker, Painter, Bread Baker and Theater Performer Lizz DeSimone, Artist and Activist Unique Fair-Smith, Interdisciplinary Artist (public art, painting, projecting sculptures, metalwork, and film) and Teacher of Sculpture at the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology Annalisa Brown, Artist with a background in both social work and nonprofit leadership and the Executive Director of Flower City Arts Center Kristen Rapp, Visual Arts Educator at Renaissance Academy Charter School of the Arts Laura Garland, and Materials and Process Maven and Artistic Director of Airigami, (who creates record-breaking installations) Kelly Cheatle.
For more information on the artists and the M&T Bank Clothesline Art Festival, please visit mag.rochester.edu/events/clothesline-festival/.
About the Festival
Rochester’s largest and longest-running fine arts festival continues to evolve. Originating as a New York State-only artist festival, Clothesline has expanded recently to welcome artists from across the country. It’s now the place to experience all-day live entertainment, sample food from some of Rochester’s favorite vendors, enjoy free family art activities, visit the museum, and, of course, browse and buy original artwork throughout the grounds.