From 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, American Greetings celebrates the one-year anniversary of its new world headquarters at Crocker Park with an opening reception at Gallery W for its Fine Art Show, an annual art exhibition of visual and literary work created by members of American Greetings’ staff. Open to all associates, the Fine Art Show includes many works created by employees outside the creative departments. In addition to being Gallery W’s only recurring exhibition featuring artwork from associates, the 38th Annual American Greetings Fine Art Show is the only presentation to span both the Gallery W public art space and the private Irving Stone Gallery within the Creative Studios world headquarters, typically only accessible to employees.
“Emphasizing the importance of creativity in everything we do here, it’s with great pride that our new headquarters allows us to host our own long-standing American Greetings tradition,” says Mark Mueller, executive director of creative. “Last year’s Fine Art Show was Gallery W’s inaugural exhibit, and we couldn’t be more pleased by the continued widespread participation with more than ninety pieces in this year’s show. Our notable panel of local jurors represents a blend of traditional and modern disciplines, and the breadth of submissions will make for an energetic and eclectic show.”
The exhibition is a project of the Fine Art Show Committee, compiled of artists, writers and editors who currently work at AG. These committee members are responsible for every aspect of the exhibition, from sending out the call for entries, installing the show and planning the opening reception. A labor of love, these employees take on these responsibilities in addition to their normal workload.
Each year the committee selects a different group of jurors with diverse backgrounds and professional experience in a variety of art media and literary genres, including playwriting, poetry, memoirs and short stories. The jurors are tasked with both selecting the exhibition from hundreds of submissions, as well as awarding prizes. This year’s Visual Arts jurors are LAND Studios project manager Erin Guido, Cleveland State University professor of Drawing George Mauersberger and Cleveland Institute of Art adjunct faculty of Photography + Video Joseph Minek. The Literary Arts jurors are
Scene’s own Christine Howey, novelist D.M. Pulley and Karamu House president and CEO Tony Sias.
The American Greetings Fine Art Show remains on view through Oct. 27.
(American Greetings) 1 American Blvd., Westlake, 216-252-7300, americangreetings.com.
