Art Forum officers (from left) Krista Gamman (treasurer), Jamie DiSarno (president) and Angela Occhino (secretary) take a break from their preparations for the second annual Great Lakes Emerging Artists Competition at SUNY Fredonia with Art Forum member and Competition participant Raymond Bonilla at Rockefeller Arts Center. Great Lakes Emerging Artists Competition winners will be announced at the opening reception on Friday, March 11 at 7 p.m. in the Rockefeller Arts Center Art Gallery Lobby.
 
The State University of New York at Fredonia will host an opening reception for a three-week exhibition of selected works from the second annual Great Lakes Emerging Artists Competition on Friday, March 11 at 7 p.m. in the Rockefeller Arts Center Art Gallery Lobby. This free event is open to the public and is sponsored by the SUNY Fredonia student organization Art Forum.
 
Established by Art Forum during the 2003-2004 academic year, the Great Lakes Emerging Artists Competition is a juried art contest at SUNY Fredonia that drew entries from over 100 undergraduate and graduate student artists from eight American states and the Canadian province of Ontario this year. Louis Grachos, director of the internationally renowned Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, will select the winner of the Best in Show Award.
 
Mr. Grachos began serving in his current position at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in February 2003. The former director of SITE Santa Fe in New Mexico, Mr. Grachos has an impressive background as both a curator and an administrator. He studied at the University of Toronto and John F. Kennedy University in San Francisco, and has held the role of assistant director of the assistant director for the Center of Fine Arts in Miami, Fla. and curator of the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art.
 
"We were very excited when Mr. Grachos agreed to serve as the juror for this competition," said SUNY Fredonia art student Jamie DiSarno. Ms. DiSarno is the president of Art Forum. "It will help to bring recognition to both SUNY Fredonia and the Great Lakes Emerging Artists Competition."
 
The Best in Show honoree will receive a cash prize of $200. Liz Dodds, a graduate student at the Rochester Institute of Technology, earned the Best in Show award in the 2003-2004 Great Lakes Emerging Artists Competition with her oil on canvas painting "Chomp." Visual Arts student Eric Morgan was the top SUNY Fredonia finisher, securing first place with "Confrontation," an acrylic on canvas painting. The winners of the 2004-2005 will be announced at the opening reception.
 
The Rockefeller Arts Center Art Gallery will conclude the academic year with a pair of exhibitions that will highlight the work of the Class of 2005. The first of two Graduating Senior Exhibitions will open on Friday, April 8 at 7 p.m. and remain on display through Sunday, April 17. Graduating Senior Exhibit II will open on Friday, April 22 at 7 p.m. and will be available for viewing through Sunday, May 8. These installations will feature selections in such diverse media as painting, drawing, graphic design, sculpture, ceramics and photography.
 
The Rockefeller Arts Center Art Gallery is open Tuesday to Thursday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission to the Rockefeller Arts Center Art Gallery is free. To visit the Art Gallery outside regular viewing hours or to book a group tour, call Art Gallery Administrator June Miller-Spann at (716) 673-4897. All inquiries are welcome.
 
To learn more about art programs and exhibitions at SUNY Fredonia, visit the Rockefeller Arts Center website.