Photo by: Greg Anderson

At a time when juried art shows are increasingly rare, the annual Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition at Beloit College’s Wright Museum of Art maintains a strong reputation as a showcase for regional work that pushes the boundaries of contemporary art.

After reaching its 50th anniversary milestone in February, the show continues to attract the interest of artists and art patrons throughout the Midwest. At the same time, the work that goes on behind the scenes of the oldest juried art exhibit in the state of Wisconsin presents a wide range of opportunities for collaborations, especially between students and the regional arts community.

A competitive exhibition, Beloit and Vicinity typically features collages, drawings, paintings, photography, prints, sculptures, and assemblages that represent only a fraction of the work submitted for consideration by artists from Wisconsin, Illinois, and occasionally Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa.

Kara Pallin, a senior from Minocqua, Wis., was a major force in coordinating and mounting the 2007 exhibition. A double major in art history and education/youth studies with a museum studies minor, Pallin says she enjoys being a part of an event that embraces both established and emerging artists.

“The artists appreciate having a chance to have their art critiqued by experts and compared to the work of other artists,” she says. “The art tends to be unique and not as traditional as you might expect to find in a small Midwestern show.”

A burgeoning art scene

Wright Museum of Art

The 7th annual Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition in 1964.

The 50-year anniversary is truly an achievement for an exhibition with rather humble beginnings. According to sculptor and alumnus O.V. “Verne” Shaffer’50, the idea for the annual exhibition took root when he served as the first director of the Wright Museum of Art from 1955 to 1961. At that time, area schools were actively building their studio art programs.

“There had been a surge of people graduating with art degrees from state universities and schools like Beloit,” he says. “A lot of artists lived in the area, but there was no place where their work could be seen. We saw that there was a need, and Beloit had gallery space available.”

The Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition was launched in 1958 as a collaborative effort between the College community and The Art League of Beloit, an active city organization. “We had a very low budget,” Shaffer recalls. “Basically, the Art League gave me their membership fees and that is what we used to install the exhibition.”

Since the museum lacked staff and storage space, artists were asked to bring their work in for viewing by the jurors. “We told them ‘if you can get it here, we’ll judge it,’” he says.

Members of The Art League of Beloit were very involved, helping Shaffer coordinate, promote, and fund the show. The team’s hard work paid off; the first prospectus attracted 225 entries—a considerable number for a first-time regional show—and more than 60 works of art made it into the inaugural exhibition.

From the beginning, the Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition included art that reflected forward-thinking sensibilities. “People in the Midwest were very aware of what was going on in art, whether it was abstract expressionism or symbolism,” Shaffer says. “It was a show by Midwesterners, but they didn’t fall behind what artists were doing in New York.”

Youthful vigor

Although the particulars have changed over the years, the show itself remains consistent in its outreach and appeal. Archival news clippings trace a remarkable path of growth and influence. Regional art critics often reviewed the exhibition, drawing parallels between featured art and the socio-political and artistic climate of the times.

Wright Museum of Art

A 1970 headline from the Beloit Daily News heralded that year’s exhibition as “New, Unusual, Shocking.” The article went on to note that “there’s no comfortable rut in the Age of Aquarius. And that includes art shows. Innovation is ‘in’ and if you haven’t got that, you’re out.”

On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, alumnus Mark Rich’80—in a special article for the Beloit Daily News—commented that the Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition “ranks as an ‘old-timer among area shows,’” but one that continued to project “a sense of youthful vigor.”

That vigor is due in part to the contributions of many distinguished art professionals from outside the Beloit community who have lent their expertise to the exhibition. The number and identity of participating judges varies by year, with invitations to adjudicate going to leading Wisconsin academics, curators, museum professionals, and artists. Jurors have sole responsibility for deciding which entries make it into the show.

“Artworks selected represent the best submissions in the estimation of the jurors,” says Judy Newland, curator of art for the Wright Museum. She adds that artists’ past successes do not promise them inclusion in current or future exhibitions. “Nothing is guaranteed in the world of the juried art show.”

Her comments are borne out by statements supplied by the 2007 judges for the exhibition catalog. “As a juror, I look for the artist’s voice coming through in the work, for a clear and original vision,” wrote Martha Glowacki, curator of the James Watrous Gallery in the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters in Madison, Wis., and a sculptor herself. “Competence in handling media is an important, but secondary, consideration.”

Glowacki’s comments were echoed by fellow juror Thomas Lidtke, who serves as executive director of the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, Wis. Selected works, he wrote of the 2007 exhibition, “both please the eye and challenge the intellect.”

It is not unusual for some artists to have their work appear in consecutive Beloit and Vicinity Exhibitions. Regular viewers become keen observers of the creative development of individuals whose work appears repeatedly.

Barbara Spencer, an assistant director in the College’s Office of International Education, is one such viewer. A long-time city resident, she helped organize Beloit and Vicinity Exhibitions in the late 1960s and had several of her fiber art creations included in subsequent shows. Spencer believes the jurying process helps the exhibition maintain its high standards.

“You’ll see many of the same people represented in the show because the judges change,” she says. “Work that gets in tends to be cutting-edge, since the art is fresh to the eyes of the judges.”

Learning by doing

To be sure, the Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition has evolved since the early days. For one thing, it is now open to artists throughout Wisconsin and neighboring states, who send slides or digital images of their art for jurors to assess. And while The Art League of Beloit still actively supports the exhibition, members are no longer intimately involved with planning and installing the show.

“In recent years, Beloit College students have come to play an increasingly important role in all aspects of this exhibition, from selecting the jurors to installing the artwork,” says Director of the Wright Museum of Art Joy Beckman. “The Wright Museum is a teaching museum, which means we place a great emphasis on exhibitions that engage students.”

Photo by: Jeff Woods

In 2007, students took leadership roles in organizing the jubilee exhibition in the main and north galleries while also conducting research and curating a special, retrospective exhibit titled 50 Years of Beloit and Vicinity in the Neese and Courtyard Galleries (see sidebar).

Pallin and classmate Jaclyn Ludowese (Hutchinson, Minn.) processed submissions, coordinated the jurying of entries, worked with the jurors to finalize the list of selected artworks, determined the placement of art in the galleries, compiled the exhibition catalog, and publicized the event. Senior Jennifer Melia (Worcester, Mass.) and sophomore Jamie Seashore-Ludlow (Lexington, Mass.) set the schedule, assembled materials, and mailed out a prospectus to more than 900 artists. Pallin and Ludowese also worked on installing the show, along with Newland and eight other students from the College’s Exhibit Design and Development class.

As demanding as the project was, Pallin believes it offered a unique opportunity to apply what she learned in museum studies courses. “This gives us insight into the art and museum professions,” she says.

Ludowese, a double-major in studio art and art-history with a minor in museum studies, felt that the experience gave her a new appreciation for museum and gallery operations.

“Working through the stages of a show, you really see how what you do benefits the community and encourages proactive movements in the arts,” she explains. “It was great to see it through to the opening reception, where I met people who told me what a great resource the exhibition is.”

A loyal following

The show has developed a loyal following on campus and in the community, with its opening serving as a social highlight each spring.

“Last year, nearly 400 people attended the reception, which is an exceptionally large turnout for any show,” says Newland, who has been involved with Beloit and Vicinity Exhibitions for the last seven years.

Wisconsin’s oldest juried art exhibition is also a dynamic example of how partnerships between the College and the community can benefit both.

Photos by: Greg Anderson

Opening night of Beloit and Vicinity is an annual highlight on the social calendar. Among the celebrants shown here are Billy Boyce, top, one of the 2007 prize-winning artists, and the large group of students, bottom, who worked on this year’s show.

“For 50 years the Beloit and Vicinity show has formed a sustaining link between the College and the community,” says Beckman. “The true depth of the arts community in Beloit is wonderful to see.”

William Boyce, a photographer from Beloit, captured the 2005 “People’s Choice” award for his image, Houses on Park (2004). His son Billy, also a photographer, earned the 2006 “People’s Choice” award for Matches (2005) and the 2007 third place honor for My Friend Mitchell (2006). The two artists were among hundreds of people who showed up at the Wright Museum to celebrate the show’s golden anniversary.

“I started coming to the Beloit and Vicinity shows in the ’60s,” the elder Boyce acknowledged as he stood proudly near his son’s two framed black-and-white prints. The younger Boyce credits his father with introducing him to the show and encouraging him to submit work for consideration. With two Beloit and Vicinity prizes already on his résumé, Billy Boyce fully intends to be involved in future exhibitions. “I guess you could say that I am addicted to the Beloit and Vicinity show,” he said.

That is the sort of comment that makes Wright Museum director Beckman smile.

“It is my hope that the next 50 years of Beloit and Vicinity will be as successful as the first,” she says.

Beloit and Vicinity in Retrospect Photo by: Trevor Johnson’08 Seniors Jaclyn Ludowese, left, and Kara Pallin researched and developed a special historical exhibit in the Wright Museum’s Neese and Courtyard Galleries, recognizing the 50th anniversary of Beloit and Vicinity. The 50th Annual Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition at Beloit College took on an added dimension this year with two new student initiatives. In recognition of the show’s milestone anniversary, seniors Kara Pallin and Jaclyn Ludowese curated a second, smaller exhibit titled 50 Years of Beloit and Vicinity, drawn from the permanent collection of the Wright Museum of Art. “It is very unusual for a museum or gallery to own art that has appeared in juried exhibitions,” says Ludowese. The Wright Museum, however, has benefited from the generosity of The Art League of Beloit, which used to purchase one work of art from each show for the museum’s permanent collection. At present the museum owns 26 such works. The students conducted extensive research through the museum’s paper files and Art League scrapbooks. “It was a lot like detective work,” says Ludowese. Ultimately, she and Pallin developed the exhibit around 15 works of art that they felt conveyed the history and context of past exhibitions. In another student-centered initiative, two art students were asked to review submissions and determine which works they thought warranted inclusion in the 50th Annual Beloit and Vicinity Exhibition. Seniors Lenka Becvar (Tigard, Ore.) and Lee Delegard (Edina, Minn.) took part by examining entry slides and discussing the art together. “I tried to be true to my own opinion and not consider what my professors or art professionals or others who I respect might think,” says Delegard, a sculptor and double-major in art history and studio art. Becvar, a studio art major whose preferred media is photography, also focused on her initial reactions. “If we disagreed about a work of art, then we had to explain to the other why we really loved it,” she recollects. “That was hard, because we were comparing works that were not alike.” Although their opinions did not influence which works were included in the show, they did select one painting for a “Student Jurors Award.” Both say that they learned from the exercise. “It made me realize just how short and competitive the process of judging art is,” Delegard admits. “You have 10 seconds to catch someone’s eye and convey a message.”

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