Rejected!

Another example of why artists need to have thick skins! I've been rejected from an outdoor art festival -- one which I've done for many years, and one for which I have won multiple awards in the past, and one for which I was one of the jurors in the past!

But... we must all understand that jurors are people, and thus subjective - and the three jurors this year (Jordan Brown from the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Nicola Charles, who worked at the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery and whom I knew from the many years that I've been at the Affordable Art Fairs, and Mallory Kimmel, who makes "conceptual furniture to address exclusionary design practices") did not like my work, so they gave me a thumbs down, as it is their right as jurors.

Make sure that you visit the festival! It is an amazing show and well-worth the visit to see incredibly talented artists!

Bottom line: Learn from it, breathe in, and re-apply next year! I've been accepted like 20 years out of 22 or so, so pretty good batting average!

Dear F. Lennox,

Thank you for applying to the 34th annual Tephra ICA Arts Festival.

The highly competitive pool of applications was individually evaluated by three independent jurors and selections were made based on their reviews. Unfortunately, your application was not selected for display at the Festival this year. We encourage you to apply again next year when we have a new panel of qualified professional jurors whose perceptions may vary. As a 2025 Festival applicant, you will automatically receive notification regarding the 2026 Festival application in the fall.

We sincerely appreciate your support and interest in the Festival, and we wish you much success in all your artistic endeavors.

Sincerely,

Hannah Barco

Associate Curator and Festival Director