Five From Berks Selected to Exhibit at “Art of the State” Exhibition

From Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission

The State Museum of Pennsylvania is pleased to announce the finalists for the prestigious Art of the State 2025, showcasing the exceptional talent of artists from across the Commonwealth. This year’s exhibition offers a captivating glimpse into the Commonwealth’s rich artistic heritage, featuring a diverse range of works from 96 artists across more than 30 counties, including paintings, photography/digital media, crafts, sculptures, and works on paper.

Finalists were selected from an impressive 2,344 entries submitted by 696 artists. A distinguished panel of expert selection jurors meticulously reviewed and scored all submitted artworks. The highest-rated works in each category were selected for inclusion in the exhibition. From these finalists, an esteemed awards juror will choose the first, second, and third place winners.

This year’s selection jurors are:

• Brenton Good
  Professor of Art
  Messiah University
  www.brentongood.com
• Shin-hee Chin
  Professor of Art and Design
  Tabor College
  shinheechin.com/
• Lauren Whearty
  Artist and Co-Director
  Ortega y Gasset Projects
  www.laurenwhearty.com

This year’s awards juror is:

• Denise Ryner
  Andrea B. Laporte Curator
  Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania
  icaphila.org/staff-members/denise-ryner/

Cash awards totaling $5,300 will be bestowed to winners. In each of the five categories, a first prize of $500, a second prize of $300, and a third prize of $200 will be presented. Additionally, the Art Docents’ Choice Award will be honored with $300.

Award winners will be announced on the State Museum’s Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) pages. An exhibition catalogue in PDF format, along with announcements about related programming, will be available on the Art of the State 2025 webpage following the opening on June 8.

The public is invited to view the finalists’ creations at The State Museum of Pennsylvania, beginning Sunday, June 8. Admission will be free on opening day. The exhibition will be on display through September 14, 2025, coinciding with Harrisburg’s Gallery Walk, offering another opportunity to engage with the arts.

The 58^th annual Art of the State is presented by The State Museum of Pennsylvania in partnership with the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation. The Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation (PHF) is the nonprofit partner of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC), dedicated to preserving and sharing the Commonwealth’s rich history. Through generous donations, PHF supports PHMC in caring for 23 historic sites and museums, an extensive collection of artifacts, and invaluable archival materials.

Artists selected to exhibit at Art of the State 2025 are listed by county:

• Adams: Carol Foerster, Charlie Marley, Eric Plump, and Jóh Ricci.
• Allegheny: Kenneth Batista, Petra Fallaux, Dai Morgan, Marilyn Narey, and Lauren Scavo-Fulk.
• Berks: Amy Forsyth, Rachel Heberling, Carl Kaucher, Jay Ressler, and Steve Scheuring.
• Blair: Katrina Lawecki.
• Bucks: Bill Donnelly, Michael Frank, and Brynn Hurlstone.
• Cambria: Peter Calderwood and Brandon Hirt.
• Centre: Lisa Cirincione, Jennifer Kelly, Alex Ramos, Jason Smoyer, and Stephen Tuttle.
• Chester: Hank Buffington, Morris Cook, Jill Haas, Anne Mitchell Reid, and Gabrielle Vitollo.
• Columbia: Linda Doucette.
• Crawford: William Brady Jr. and Ashley Cloud.
• Cumberland: Steve Bootay, Rich Harrison, Michael Hower, Kiki Mullen, Steven Pearson, Quay San, Spike Spilker, Jon Weary, and Jordan Zabady.
• Dauphin: Kevin Macomber.
• Delaware: Polly Bech, Toni Kersey, Lauren Pakradooni, and Libbie Soffer.
• Erie: Passle Helminski.
• Franklin: Anne Finucane.
• Lancaster: Amy Edwards, Jerome Hershey, Dave Kube, Barry Steely, and Josiah Stoltzfus.
• Lebanon: Randy Leibowitz Dean.
• Lehigh: Richard Begbie and Douglas Wiltraut.
• Lycoming: David Moyer and David Rich.
• Montgomery: Robert Arnosky, Cynthia Goodman Brantley, Fred Danziger, Bob Hakun, Elizabeth Hamilton, Laura Madeleine, Paula Mandel, and Margaret Washington.
• Northampton: Marissa McHugh.
• Philadelphia: Phillip Adams, Bren Ahearn, Doug Brown, Morgan Dummitt, Timothy Gierschick II, Ellen Hutchinson, Rachel Kedinger, Andrea Krupp, Mary Elizabeth Kulesa, Bradley N. Litwin, Anh Ly, Som-Mai Nguyen, Taylor Pilote, Emily Stroud, and John Howell White.
• Schuylkill: Valerie Perez-Prosick and Robert Stickloon.
• Snyder: Ann Piper.
• Somerset: Margaret Black.
• Susquehanna: Riley Bossick.
• Union: Tony Ragusea.
• Wayne: Glenn Lieberman.
• Westmoreland: Justin Coffee.
• York: Peter Danko, Judeth Pekala Hawkins, Freg Haag, and Jo Margolis.

The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission is the official history agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Learn more by visiting PHMC online or following us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or X.

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Source: bctv