The Art of Diversity

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The 2023 Division of Diversity and Belonging Visual and Performing Arts Showcase

The Art of Diversity: Art for the Public Good visual and performing arts showcase and competition will feature the works of Wood, Lucas, and Erie county K-12 students, staff, and community members, as well as BGSU students, faculty, staff, and community members. Artwork will be featured January 14th through 22nd in the Willard Wankelman Gallery located within the School of Art in the Fine Arts Center at Bowling Green State University.

2022 Art of Diversity

Committed to driving cultural vitality in the region, in 2022, Bowling Green State University held the inaugural Art of Diversity, "The Art of Diversity: An Introspective Journey to Belonging," featuring visual and performance art from artists in Wood, Lucas and Erie counties.

Read about the 2022 Art of Diversity

The Art of Diversity Winners

Thank you to everyone who entered their work into the 2022 Art of Diversity Visual and Performing Arts Showcase. Thank you also to the BGSU faculty and staff who gave their time and insight to judge the showcase!

2022 Performing Arts Winners
Category Winner Place What is the title of your visual or performing art entry?
Performance BGSU Students 1st Cielito Lindo: A Poem of Power - A Collaborative Musical Performance by children of La Coalición Hispana de Ohio and the Blue Jays Jazz and Funk Band
Performance BGSU Students 2nd , Office of the President FF Still Don't Know My Name
Performance BGSU Students 3rd My Sweet Girl
Performance BGSU Students
 Honorable Mention Radhawani Dance Cover
Performance BGSU Students
 Honorable Mention Junteenth Part 1-2
Performance Grades 6-8 1st Our World (A song by a bisexual and shy 8th grader)
2022 Visual Arts Winners
Category Winner Name Title
6 and under 1st Gavina Rupasinghe Miro Fun
Grades 1-3 2nd Ali Alabkary Altered Face
Grades 1-3 3rd Yocelyn Sanchez-Perez Klimt's Tree
Grades 1-3 Honorable Mention Zavier Moore Picasso Friends
Grades 4-5 1st Mason Richmond Notecard Design
Grades 4-5 2nd Vicky Garcia Ornelas Tesselation People
Grades 4-5 3rd Rayan Khan Unique Creatures
Grades 4-5 Honorable Mention Keegan Brentlinger Advisory
Grades 6-8 1st Kennedy Schlessman A Deer of Belonging
Grades 6-8 2nd Alayna Coe "It's not all black and white"
Grades 9-11 1st America Parra-Gonzalez Rebirth
Grades 9-11 2nd Mikelle Flynn Adam and Steve
Grades 9-11 3rd Denise Sherer Connections
BGSU Students 1st Alison Benbow The Glass Closet
BGSU Students 2nd Sarah Stanley The Other
BGSU Students 3rd, Office of the President FF Kyle Nelson Living In Rainbows
BGSU Students Honorable Mention, DDBFF Christopher Pickett 8:46 Sandra Bland
Fac/Staff/Comm 1st Simone Spruce Oh, Freedom
Fac/Staff/Comm 2nd Vicki Knauerhase Holiday Traditions
Fac/Staff/Comm 3rd M. M. Dupay Just Love Her Good and True Myself
Fac/Staff/Comm Honorable Mention Kahni Begum Womanscape: Woman in the Dunes

About The Contest

Eligibility

This competition is open to all residents (including k-12 schools) of Wood, Lucas, and Erie counties and all students, faculty, and staff of BGSU.

Criteria

Entries are evaluated based on originality, interpretation of the theme (i.e., art for the public good), creative technique, composition, and appearance/sound.

Judging

Contest officials select the top submissions from each division and will present them to a panel of judges. Judges determine the award winners.

Prizes

All entrants will receive a virtual certificate of participation.  Winning entries (e.g., Best in Show, etc.) will receive a ribbon and visual art will be featured in the Showcase event at Wankelman Gallery (Bowling Green State University, January 14-20, 2023) and performing art will be featured in the virtual gallery (beginning January 14, 2023).  Best in show winners will have the opportunity to select an arts workshop or experience that the Division of Diversity and Belonging will sponsor up to a $250 value.  Best in Show – High School Senior (individual, not group, entries for visual or performing arts) winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship to attend Bowling Green State University in the 2023-2024 academic year.

Contest Terms and Agreement
  1. All participants must complete and submit the online entry form at specific site no later than December 16, 2022*. The entry form will ask the following information: name, age, birth date, address, phone number, email address, artwork title, type of art/medium, size (if visual art), year created and must be accompanied by the appropriate photo or video file.
  2. *All HS Seniors who enter prior to December 1, 2022 will receive a BGSU application fee waiver.
  3. All entries are free.
  4. Each visual art entry must be the original work of the participant. Each performance art entry must be original work or open source material. 
  5. All performance art videos must be close captioned and/or subtitled and in compliance with accessibility standards established by section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
  6. All artwork, whether visual or performing, must meet the aforementioned requirements in order to be considered for entry.
  7. By submitting an entry form, participants grant BGSU and its designees the right and permission to use the entry and their name, city of residence, and school (if applicable) without further compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law. 
  8. From all visual artwork, judges will select art from each aforementioned division for the Showcase event. From all performing artwork, judges will select art from each division for the virtual gallery.
  9. Artist being invited to showcase their artwork will be notified via email on or before December 23, 2022. 
  10. Selected winners agree to have their works shown in public (visual art at the Showcase event and performing art in the virtual gallery), and to make themselves available for interviews, photographs with their work, and public appearances, if necessary, including but not limited to the Showcase event.
  11. All prize details are at the discretion of BGSU’s Division of Diversity and Belonging. 
  12. If your visual artwork is selected to be featured in the Showcase, you must make arrangements to drop off your original artwork to BGSU, Wankelman Gallery, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on January 12 or 13, 2023. The Willard Wankelman Gallery is located within the School of Art in the Fine Arts Center located at 1000 Fine Arts Center, Bowling Green, OH, 43403-0204.
  13. 2D art should be framed with a hanging wire on the back of the frame.  Wooden pedestals will be provided for 3D art.
  14. It is your responsibility to insure your visual art for the display and showcase if you so choose. BGSU will not insure these works for this purpose.
  15. Winners will be unveiled during the Gallery Showcase and will be featured and announced during the Gallery Closing Event on Friday January 20th, 2023, 6-7:30 PM.
  16. All participants whose artwork is featured in the Showcase must pick up their artwork between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on January 24, 2023.  Unclaimed artwork will be deemed abandoned by the participant and ownership and use will be ceded to Bowling Green State University.
  17. Bowling Green State University is not responsible for late, lost, damaged, incomplete, undelivered, or misdirected entries, or for computer, technical, printing, typographical, human or other errors relating to or in connection with the Showcase, the virtual gallery, or the contest.
Award Categories

Youth (18 and under):

  • President's Award
  • Division of Diversity and Belonging Award
  • Best in Show: High School Senior BGSU Scholarship Award

Adult (19 and up):

  • President's Award
  • Division of Diversity and Belonging Award
  • Best in Show: 2D
  • Best in Show: 3D
  • Best in Show: Performing Arts

Updated: 01/06/2023 05:27PM