IMAGES to bring 46th juried art festival to New Smyrna Beach

Laurie Hahn, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·2 min read
An artist displays his creations at a booth during a previous IMAGES Art Festival.
An artist displays his creations at a booth during a previous IMAGES Art Festival.

This weekend’s 46th annual IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts in New Smyrna Beach is set to bring some of the top artists in the country to Volusia County.

According to the festival’s coordinator, Nance Koch, IMAGES is a juried art festival.

“Artists have to send in three images of their work plus one of their booth space” starting in October, she said recently. Two judges determine which artists will be accepted into the exhibit.

“We usually get about 600 (applications) for 200 spots,” Koch said. Featured art can include paintings, ceramics, digital art, jewelry, mixed media, photography and sculpture.

The artists’ work is evaluated by a second set of judges at the festival, she said, and $27,500 is allocated for cash prizes to the artists, with a top prize of $6,000.

The festival skipped a year in 2021 because of the pandemic, and the last show took place in January 2020, Koch said. “In 2020 we were voted number 16 in the nation,” she added.

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Visitors check out the artists' booths at a previous IMAGES Art Festival.
Visitors check out the artists' booths at a previous IMAGES Art Festival.

Approximately 50,000 to 55,000 people are expected to attend this weekend, if past attendance is a measure. Koch said the festival will include food trucks, a beer and wine garden, live entertainment, a tent displaying artwork from students at local schools and a children’s art tent.

In the past, the children’s art tent featured projects kids could do at the festival, but because of health concerns, Koch said, this year children will receive a free art project to take home.

Another aspect of the festival is IMAGES’ Patrons Program, in which some 400 patrons donate $400 each, with $200 going to support the art festival and $200 returned to the patron to spend at the show, Koch said. Each time a patron purchases a work of art, the artist receives a “Patron’s Choice Award” to hang in his or her booth.

For information and a complete schedule and map of booth locations, visit magazinevolume.com.

IMAGES is sponsored by the Atlantic Center for the Arts.

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If you go

Location: Riverside Park, at Riverside Drive and Canal Street, New Smyrna Beach

Hours:

  • 1-5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28

  • 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 29

  • 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 30

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: IMAGES art festival to hold 46th juried event to New Smyrna Beach