Kentuck Announces Judges For 2024 Festival Of The Arts

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Kentuck Art Center on Tuesday announced that Gilda McDaniel and Teresa Hollingsworth will serve as judges for the 53rd Kentuck Festival of the Arts on Oct. 19-20 at Snow Hinton Park in Tuscaloosa.

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Kentuck says judges will award a total of $12,200 to exhibiting artists at the Kentuck Festival of the Arts.

McDaniel is the director of Weddings and Special Events at Fearrington Village in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she has overseen the Fearrington Folk Art Show throughout its 21-year history.

She holds degrees in art history, history, and English from the University of North Carolina Asheville and has served as president of the Small Museum of Folk Art and the Chatham Art Council. She has also worked with Arts North Carolina.

Kentuck says Fearrington Village Folk Art Show has garnered a reputation for curating an eclectic group of outsider artists who represent some of the most interesting folk art to be found in the United States.

"We are ecstatic that Gilda will be a judge at the Kentuck Festival this year," Kentuck Art Center Executive Director Exa Skinner said. "The Fearrington Folk Art Show is known as one of the most prestigious shows for self-taught artists in the country, and we're excited to welcome her to Tuscaloosa to see all the wonderful artists at The Kentuck Festival of the Arts."

Hollingsworth is the director for Traditional Arts at South Arts — a regional arts organization (RAO) based in Atlanta.

She also directs "In These Mountains, " "Central Appalachian Folk Arts & Culture initiative" that includes arts education, community scholar training, fieldwork, fellowships, granting programs, professional development for artists, and mentor artist/apprenticeship program expansion working in Appalachian Regional Commission counties in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Kentuck says Hollingsworth also oversees the Traditional Arts Touring Grant program, the biannual Folklife in the South gathering, and new fieldwork endeavors. What's more, she is a 2021 recipient of the Benjamin A. Botkin Prize for lifetime achievement in public folklore from The American Folklore Society.

"Teresa is the perfect person to serve as a judge for the Kentuck Festival," Skinner said. "South Arts plays an essential role in preserving the arts in our region and elevating it to a national spotlight. We are fortunate to be able to provide the opportunity to show Teresa the incredible creativity that takes place at the Kentuck Festival of the Arts."

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