State Museum Announces Finalists for Art Exhibition

The “Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2011” exhibition, showcasing the talent, creativity and diversity of Pennsylvania’s established and emerging artists, will open to the public on Sunday, June 19, at The State Museum of Pennsylvania.

First-, second- and third-place honors are awarded in painting, photography, sculpture, craft and works on paper. Cash awards for each category are $500 for first place, $300 for second and $200 for third. In addition, the William D. Davis Memorial Award for Drawing, the Rose Roy Memorial Award, and The State Museum of Pennsylvania Purchase Award are selected.

The 44th annual exhibit runs through Sept. 11 and includes 135 works of art by 133 artists from 35 counties. This year’s exhibit received 1,933 entries from 727 artists.

Josh Dannin, of Bensalem, is among four artists from Bucks County.

The exhibit is co-sponsored by The State Museum and The Greater Harrisburg Arts Council, which present over $5,000 in cash awards to the winners.

The State Museum of Pennsylvania, located at 300 North Street, is one of 25 historic sites and museums administered by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission as part of the Pennsylvania Trails of History®. It is the commonwealth’s official museum, holding 4.5 million objects in its collections. The museum’s permanent and temporary exhibits cover 100,000 square feet and feature Pennsylvania’s social, industrial and economic history, decorative, fine and industrial arts, and archaeology, zoology and paleontology.

Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for children and senior citizens. For more information about the museum, visit its website.