Representatives from Bay Transit, the public transportation division of Bay Aging, and the RAL Art Center met recently at the RAL Art Center in Kilmarnock to begin planning next year’s Art in Transit contest.
RAL Executive Director Doug Mock also presented a check for $448.75 to Bay Transit Director Ken Pollock, closing the books on fundraising from 2022’s Art in Transit judged competition. “This check is Bay Transit’s share of the entry fees and commission on works of art that were sold during this year’s judged exhibition,” Mock said.
The Art in Transit 2023 award winners will be recognized at a reception at the RAL Art Center on the evening of May 19, 2023. The culmination of the reception will once again occur when a copy of the first-place entry is unveiled on the side of a Bay Transit bus. The deadline for entries and art submissions to the RAL Art Center in Kilmarnock has been expanded to two potential dates: either Sunday, April 16, or Monday, April 17, between 10 a.m. and noon. “With the increasing number of entries we have received each year, we want to make sure 2023 participants have two potential dates to submit their art,” Mock added. “Art in Transit has coincided with substantial growth in the RAL Art Center’s membership. We are up to 380 members today compared to 236 two years ago, an increase of about 61 percent. Some of this membership growth is directly attributable to the incredible success of Art in Transit.”
“We are very pleased to cohost the Art in Transit competition again in 2023,” said Pollock. Artists are asked to submit non-digital paintings or drawings that connote motion or movement and be sized in a manner that permits the artwork to fit on the side of a Bay Transit bus. In addition to having the art displayed on a Bay Transit bus, the winning artist will also receive $700.
“Next year, we will once again partner with other art centers in the region to increase the quantity of submissions we receive. We hope to get many submissions from artists at the Bay School Community Arts Center, Gloucester Arts on Main, Tappahannock Arts Guild, and even some art centers in Richmond,” Pollock said.
For more information about Bay Transit, visit www.BayTransit.org.