The 2005 Trawick Prize

10 Finalists Compete for $14,000 in Prize Money!

Ten finalists will display their artwork at The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards exhibition held at Creative Partners Gallery in downtown Bethesda. The top four winners will be awarded $14,000 in prize monies making this visual art competition one of the largest in the nation. The exhibition will run from September 6 –30, 2005, with a public opening scheduled for Friday, September 9 from 6-9pm in conjunction with the Bethesda Art Walk.

Creative Partners Gallery is located at 4600 East-West Highway in downtown Bethesda, and gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 12-6pm.

Nearly 400 artists from Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. submitted work to the third annual Trawick Prize. The first place winner will be awarded $10,000, second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A "young artist" whose birth date is after April 8, 1975 will also be awarded a $1,000 prize sponsored by our Fraser Galleries.

The 10 artists selected as finalists are:
Christine Buckton Tillman, Baltimore, MD
Bernhard Hildebrandt, Baltimore, MD
Dean Kessmann, Washington, D.C.
Michele Kong, Baltimore, MD
Gabriel Martinez, Washington, D.C.
Maggie Michael, Washington, D.C.
Jiha Moon, Annandale, VA
Daniel Sullivan, Baltimore, MD
Sonia Denise Tassin, Baltimore, MD
Jason Zimmerman, Washington, D.C.

Entries were juried by Olga Viso, Director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Andrea Pollan, an independent curator, fine arts appraiser and art consultant and Dr. Thom Collins, Executive Director of the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, MD. Catriona Fraser, my business partner and co-owner of the Fraser Gallery with locations in Bethesda and Georgetown, is the non-voting Chair of The Trawick Prize.

The Trawick Prize was established by Carol Trawick in 2003. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment and past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. Ms. Trawick is the owner of an Information Technology company in Bethesda, Trawick & Associates. She is also the generous sponsor of the annual Bethesda Painting Awards.

The second annual Trawick Prize was held in September 2004. David Page from Baltimore, MD, was awarded the 2004 "Best in Show" with $10,000; Jeff Spaulding of Bethesda, MD was named second place and was given $2,000; Randi Reiss-McCormack of Lutherville, MD was bestowed third place and received $1,000, and the 2004 "Young Artist" award of $1,000 was given to Marci Branagan of Baltimore, MD.

For more information, please visit www.bethesda.org or call 301/215-6660.