Delaware Division of the Arts opens registration for the annual Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition.
The exhibition is part of a national program that encourages organizations, including businesses and nonprofits, to generate interest in the arts among their employees. Airports, hospitals, cities and counties are frequently participants. Delaware is the only state.
Delaware Division of the Arts deputy director Kristin Pleasanton says it builds on a history of utilizing the arts in the workplace.
"We got interested in doing it because we’d come through the recession in ‘08. There were some pay cuts and cutbacks in state government and we wanted to do something feel-good for state employees, so it was kind of a morale booster."
The Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition is designed to give artists at all skill levels - professionals and amateurs - an opportunity to exhibit their creative work and to compete for cash prizes. State employees and immediate families can participate.
Pleasanton says the state’s participation has led some hobby artists to turn professional while creating opportunities for higher level artists as well.
"Some of our intermediate and professional level artists also apply for our fellowships and our grants through the Division and their careers have expanded and grown, and they sort of got a start in a way with the State Employee Arts Show."
Registration closes January 29th. The exhibit will be held February 27 through March 22.
Delaware Public Media' s arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
