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COTTON DISTRICT ARTS FESTIVAL
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Juried Art Competition

presented by Starkville Area Arts Council

Carefully juried works from both local and regional artists!

PicturePhotos provided by MSU Art Galleries
​The Cotton District Arts Festival includes the Juried Arts Competition and Exhibit: carefully juried works from both local and regional artists. Submissions to the Juried Arts Show are entirely separate from the Artisan Village. An artist may participate in either or both, but must submit to each separately for consideration.

Each piece in this Exhibit is hand selected by a notable guest juror. From the accepted pieces, prizes are awarded in several categories. In addition, numerous merit prizes, provided by local individuals and businesses, are given to artists selected by the juror as honorable mentions. 

We are very proud of both the quality of the work and the number of pieces sold and enjoyed by those in attendance each year. The depth and breadth of the art, and the creative and invigorating atmosphere found at the Juried Arts Exhibition each year is phenomenal, you won’t want to miss it.

To be selected as an exhibiting artist for the Juried Art show is an honor in itself. Works selected are viewed by thousands of festival goers providing the artist with recognition and publicity. The competition is open to artists eighteen years old and older, and whether you have been creating art for years, or are just getting started, we encourage you to enter the competition. To submit, please navigate to the Applications page. Starting with #CDAF2019, works admitted to the Juried Arts Exhibit are now part of an extended show.

CDAF 2025 Juried Art Competition

Extended Show: April 9 - 21, 2025

Reception: April 18, 2025 | 5-7 pm

Located at the ​MSU Visual Arts Center (in the Cotton District)​ during the festival.

Want to participate? Apply below!
Applications

Jurors

2025 Juror: Kaleena Stasiak
Ms. Stasiak currently teaches printmaking at the University of Mississippi.  Her practice is multidisciplinary and celebrates many different forms of art.  She was a Visiting Artist earlier this Fall semester at MSU Art.  I thought it would be incredible to have her back to work with our festival and greater community.

https://www.kaleenastasiak.com/


Past Jurors

2023: Derek Smith (Artist & Educator at Delta State University) & Lily Trest (Co-Owner and Manager at Caron Gallery South)
2022: Derek Smith, The Little Yellow Building
2021: Julian Rankin, Executive Director of the Walter Anderson Museum of Art
2020: Turry Flucker, Tougaloo College Art Collections Director + Curator
2019: Kate Cherry, Executive Director for the Meridian Museum of Art
2018: Elizabeth Abston, Curator for the Mississippi Museum of Art
2017: Ruth Miller, Artist
2016: James Davis, University of Southern Mississippi
2015: Robin Whitfield, Artist
2014: David Lambert, Artist
​2013: Nan Cunningham, Artist

Awards

All submission fees, sponsorships, and donations to the Juried Arts Show fund a purse of prizes that are paid back out to artists in awards. Although the final amount of awards is ultimately in the discretion of SAAC and CDAF, the following awards are anticipated. These awards are paid whether or not the work is sold.
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Best in Show: $750

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 1st Place (each category): $500

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2nd Place (each category): $250


Support the Arts

Each year at the Cotton District Arts Festival, the Juried Arts Committee makes available two opportunities for supporters of the arts to be more involved in this venue:
Purchase Prize: 
This is a pledge by an individual or business to purchase a piece of art from the exhibit at a private reception prior to the exhibit being opened to the public. The artist is paid the asking price on the piece and the check is made payable directly to the artist. 
Merit Award (Honorable Mention): 
This is a monetary award given either by an individual, in honor of someone, or in memory of someone. When the “First”, “Second”, and “Best in Show” prizes are awarded, the juror will choose artwork that is worthy of honorable mention and award each of them a Merit Award. The artist retains their artwork and receives the amount of the award as a prize. The recipient and the donor will find out on Saturday, at the awards ceremony, who was the recipient of their Merit Award. 
Both of these prizes are an incentive for an artist to enter the competition and receive compensation for their work. There are labels placed on the pieces or art designating who purchased them or who sponsored a Merit Award and are displayed during the exhibit on Saturday. For further information, please email [email protected].​

2021 Juried Art Competition Winners

Best in Show

Cultivos, Ana Sofia Licona Luque
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Ana Sofia Licona Luque is a multimedia Mexican artist who focuses on 3D arts. Sofia was born and raised in Mexico and currently resides in the city of Starkville where she is pursuing her bachelor’s in fine arts at Mississippi State University. Early in her academic career, Sofia worked with 2D arts such as drawing, painting, printmaking, and graphic design. However, she switched to 3D arts a couple of years ago when she was introduced to woodworking and welding which are the main mediums she works with today. Additionally, Sofia is one of two artists at the university with a concentration in sculpture where she is learning how to design and make furniture and decoration. Sofia’s art pieces have a strong sense of rectilinear designs inspired by architecture and interior decoration; in addition, her pieces feature neutral tones based on the Mexican culture she was raised in and different natural landscapes. Currently, Sofia is experimenting with different materials and processes such as papermaking, ceramics, fibers, and textiles to apply them to her main media. Sofia is a senior at the university and hopes to continue her artistic career by working in the construction and decoration field.

2D

1st Place: Microverse 1, Joe MacGown
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2nd Place: No. 3, Derek Smith
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3D

1st Place: Dog With Cup, Mia Parker
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2nd Place: Outpouring, Michelle Neumann
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Photography/Graphic Design

1st Place: Juxtaposition 23, John Bateman
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2nd Place: Processing, Colleen E. McInnis
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Merit Awards – Named Sponsor Awards

Awards chosen by the juror but money from individual donors donated to SAAC.
Mrs. Barbara Walker in Memory of Ron Walker
Quilt Book, Suzanne Powney
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Dr. Jim and Mrs. Suzy Turner in Memory of Jane M. Persian
Dipsophobia, Rosie Ferguson
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Dr. Jim and Mrs. Suzy Turner in Memory of Marion M. Turner
Effigy, Mark Brown
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Merit Award: Robert and Joan Wilson in Honor of Brent Funderburk
Asynchronous, Alison Meeler
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Juror’s Award
Let’s Get This Bread, Trisha Harjono
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Past Juried Art Competition Winners

​Come back after the festival for #CDAF2021 winners!
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2019 Best in Show: Helene Fielder, Magnetic North

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2018 Best in Show: Betty Press, "Bungee Jumpers"

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2014 Best in Show: Joe MacGown, "Convergance"

​2017 Best in Show: Helene Fielder
2016 Best in Show: Alen Chen, Cacodemon L
2015 Best in Show: Michelle Neumann, Reverie

Past Pics

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Check out more past pics below!

more photos
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  • Home
    • About the Festival/FAQs
    • Map of the Festival
    • Merchandise
    • Photo Album
    • #CDAF2025 Official Poster
  • Music & Food
    • Music at CDAF
    • Singer Songwriter Competition Showcase
    • CDAF Pre-Fest
    • Taste of Starkville
  • Villages & Competitions
    • Artisans' Village >
      • Artisans' Index
    • Children's Village
    • International Village
    • Juried Art Competition >
      • 2025 Juried Art Competition Online
    • Pet Parade
    • Gone (For Now), But Not Forgotten >
      • Student Art Competition
      • Writers' Village
  • Applications
  • Sponsors & Volunteers