PORTSMOUTH— The Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center (SOMACC) has curated an absolutely booked year of events. These events are scheduled alongside major improvements to their property, a historical expansion, new programming and the addition of bilingual services, continued efforts to digitize their collections, new certifications, overhauled educational resources by new staff, observance of new federal laws and more. The amount of work the staff is juggling is massive. Despite all of this, they are committed now, more than ever, to continue expanding events and opportunities for artists and community members to become engaged in regularly planned shows, performance arts exhibitions, monthly happenings, and more.

In fact, one major element of the organization’s identity, the annual Cream of the Crop exhibition, is currently being planned with an open date just around the corner.

The Cream of the Crop is a juried exhibition of local art, created by artists within an 85-mile distance of the museum, that has become a major success and only continues to grow.

SOMACC claims that, just after closing the submission period last weekend, they accepted the most submission in local history, with 113 artists submitting 304 pieces of work to be considered.

The art ranges in a vast array of mediums, including pottery and other three-dimensional works, paintings of many styles, photography, glass, fabric, and more.

“This is a large, juried exhibition that is open to artists within an 85-mile radius of the Portsmouth area, so it is a wonderful opportunity for artists to show their work,” Collections Manager and Performing Arts Coordinator Jenna Stewart claimed. “We have accepted a wide variety of mediums and have very few restrictions, such as fitting it through our doors and can it be displayed. We’ve accepted audio and video in the past, 2-D, 3-D, traditional, and beyond.”

SOMACC is currently filled with local art, where pieces stretched across tables and on walls and leaned against pillars, ready for the juror to make final decisions on what the show will look like when the public visits in coming weeks.

Stewart has been enjoying her time in the office, taking in the new submissions, and getting an idea on where local artists are, creatively, today. She explained that this is an important part of museum staff’s work each year and she appreciates this show in particular.

“We don’t have a lot of venues for artists to get their work out there on walls for people to see,” Stewart said. “This is an important avenue for artists to achieve this because we keep it locally within this region. We had some really strong submissions this year, too. An exciting factor is that we are used to seeing a lot of local artists return to the event and submit work each year. We love seeing this. This year, however, we had a lot of new artists. I would say we have had more new artists this year than in the past. It makes for an exciting show!”

Stewart explained that she views the influx of new artists as a sign.

“It is really exciting to see, because it means we have a lot of strong arts in the region and the word about SOMACC is spreading and people are really interested,” Stewart said.

The Cream of the Crop opening will be April 26 at 6 p.m.

“It is a large event, because there are a lot of artists participating and, obviously, it is open to the public,” Stewart said. “Even if some things must be cut, it is a large show. We expect a great event this year.”

The awards will be announced at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The show will remain in the halls of SOMACC through June 20.

“Cream of the Crop is important to the entire community,” SOMACC Artistic Director Charlotte Gordon explained. “In this one exhibition, we bring together the experiences, the voices, the thoughts, and ideas of our neighbors. It’s the opportunity to see the people we encounter every day in a new light, as creative makers. We never know who will come through the door and bring in a piece to submit to Cream of the Crop.”

For more information on SOMACC sponsored events, including Cream of the Crop, the ACID Art Walk, the Concert Series, Make It Take It, poetry sessions, and other happenings, follow them on social media or online at www.somacc.org.

The Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center is at 825 Gallia Street. Someone may be contacted by telephone at 740.354.5629.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.