The evening of Thursday, February 21st was the opening night for this year’s Mid-Atlantic exhibition, PHOTO 08. An annual event at the Ellipse Arts Center, PHOTO 08 features the works of photographers who live or work in Virginia, West Virginia, Washington D.C. and Maryland. Amateurs as well as professionals were welcomed to share their talent and compete for three Juror’s Choice Awards which were hand selected by the exhibition's Juror David Griffin, Director of Photography for National Geographic. Two Arlington Cultural Affairs Purchase Awards were chosen by Arlington’s Public Art Curator, Welmoed Laanstra. Of the 711 photographs submitted by 365 artists, David Griffin selected 72 photos by 63 photographers for exhibit. Three Photographers had all their work accepted.
The Ellipse would like to congratulate Juror’s Choice Award winners, Frank Lavelle for Morocco # 2, an emotional and mysterious image; Min Enghauser for By the Light of the Moon, Number Two, a dreamy night time landscape; and Colin Winterbottom for Nail Factory, Wheeling, WV, a fast-paced image about the relationship between man and machine.
Above: Ellipse Arts Center Volunteer Olivia Pullara and Gallery Assistant, Esther Hidalgo greet over 350 guests throughout the evening!
Griffin admits that his deep love of landscape painting and visual interest in texture, color and pattern influenced his decision for the Juror’s Choice Awards. Although there were only a few winners, Griffin would congratulate all of the participating artists. “You should be proud to be making photographs,” he says, “for it is a universal communicator, and one that I believe is critical for increasing understanding and empathy for the differing cultures of our shared worlds.”
Above: Lisa Marie Thalhammer, Ellipse Arts Center Educational Programmer and Kristina Bilonick of the Ballston Virginia Square Partnership discuss lively art happenings within the Ballston, Virginia area.