The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, a juried art competition produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, announced the 2022 prize winners during last night’s awards reception.
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| WonJung Choi and Carol Trawick |
WonJung Choi of Richmond, VA was awarded the prestigious “Best in Show” title and received the $10,000 top prize. Caryn Martin from Baltimore, MD was named second place and given $2,000; Robert Martin from Staunton, VA was bestowed third place and received $1,000; and Evie Metz from Henrico, VA was awarded the Young Artist Award and received $1,000.
WonJung Choi, was born and raised in Seoul, Korea. Her series of sculptures, paintings, drawings, and installation explores the power of her every changing identity in the making. She’s studied the process of mutation and evolution undertaken by diverse organisms to adapt to their current surroundings reflecting her hybrid identity through the continuous interactions between herself, contemporary culture and society. Choi received her Master of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York and her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Hong-Ik University in Seoul, Korea. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, and has been awarded residencies at the Museum of Arts and Design and Artists Alliance Inc. (AAI) in New York as well as a fellowship at Vermont Studio Center.
2022 Trawick Prize Finalists
MK Bailey, Washington, D.C.
WonJung Choi, Richmond, VA
Marcia Haffmans, Richmond, VA
Ali Kaeini, Richmond, VA
Caryn Martin, Baltimore, MD
Robert Mertens, Staunton, VA
Evie Metz, Henrico, VA
Judith Pratt, Orange, VA
Entries were juried by Alexis Assam, Regenia A. Perry, Assistant Curator of Global Contemporary Art at The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VFMA); Thomas James, Visual Arts Curator at Creative Alliance in Baltimore, MD; and Maria del Carmen Montoya, Assistant Professor of Sculpture and Spatial Practices, Director of Graduate Studies, M.F.A. in Fine Arts and Social Practice, Studio Arts Program.
Founded by Carol Trawick in 2003, the regional competition is one of the largest prizes to annually honor visual artists. Ms. Trawick, a longtime community activist in downtown Bethesda, also established the Bethesda Painting Awards in 2005. She has served as the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Strathmore and the Maryland State Arts Council. She founded the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation in 2007 to assist health and human services and arts non-profits in Montgomery County, MD. The Foundation has awarded grants to more than 90 nonprofits in Montgomery County and funds the annual Trawick Prize and the Bethesda Painting Awards.
To date, The Trawick Prize has awarded more than $260,000 in prize monies and has exhibited the work of more than 160 regional artists.
The work of the finalists will be on exhibit at Gallery B, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, until October 2. Gallery hours for the duration of the exhibit will be Thursday-Sunday, 12 – 5pm.