New World Festival of the Arts Award Recipients Announced
Over 75 world-class artists gathered at the Manteo waterfront August 17-18 to showcase their work in the 35th Annual New World Festival of the Arts.
This year’s New World Festival of the Arts Jury Committee observed artwork from exhibitors including watercolors, oil & acrylic, drawings, photography, jewelry, sculpture, and pottery.
“The New World Festival of the Arts Jury Committee was extremely impressed with the overall quality of both the artwork and the professionalism of the booth spaces,” said Dare County Arts Council Programs Director Fay Davis Edwards. “One juror noted that the quality was on par with what you’d see at one of the American Craft Council shows in Baltimore or Atlanta.”
Presented by PNC Bank for the second consecutive year, the 2016 New World Festival of the Arts awards recipients are Virginia Beach, VA based acrylic painter Ed Obermeyer for Best in Show 2D and Greenville, TN based wood sculptor Cliff Garren for Best in Show 3D.
Ed Obermeyer’s acrylic paintings have a Post Aboriginal Modernist style and reflect his passion for all things ocean related.
“The paintings are a reflection of my journeys to places like the Grenadine Islands, Barbados, Panama, and Australia, but the technique combines identifiable images with Aboriginal dot painting techniques and symbols used in their culture. I am also influenced by the pattern paintings of Alfredo Arreguin, Hokusai, M.C. Escher, and Vincent Van Gogh,” said Ed Obermeyer. “I was so humbled and thankful for the recognition from the Dare County Arts Council. I found the venue to be perfect for an artist, like myself, who enjoys doing Plein Air frequently as well as studio work. This was one of the most beautiful settings for an arts festival one could ever hope for.”
Cliff Garren of Wildwood Originals is an old-world craftsman who carefully sculpts each piece of wood by hand into one-of-a-kind home furnishings.
The New World Festival of the Arts was started in 1981 by Edward Greene and has been a Manteo tradition for decades. The festival originated as an event sponsored by the Town of Manteo and funded by a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council.
New World Festival of the Arts 2016 Best in Show 3D (L-R)- DCAC Executive Director Chris Sawin, Best in Show 3D award recipient Cliff Garren, and DCAC Programs Director Fay Davis Edwards. (photo courtesy of Dare Arts Council)
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