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The 4th Floyd Plein Air Biennial

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The Floyd Center for the Arts is pleased to announce the return of the Floyd Plein Air Biennial, the week-long outdoor painting festival, to take place at sites in and around beautiful Floyd County on September 22 - 28, 2024.  This will be the fourth time the Center has invited and hosted a field of regional and national artists as part of this Biennial Event, which also occurred in 2017, 2019, and 2022.  The Center is excited to bring artists back to paint.

 

Fulfilling the role of 2024 event judge, we will welcome Laura McManus, who serves as Curator of Education for the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College. Artist and Virginia native Joli Ayn Wood will return as Chairperson for the 2024 event. 

Below is the list of the talented pool of artists that have been accepted into this year's festival. Stay tuned for more information on each artist.

Natalia Andreeva ('22 1st Place Winner), John Eiseman ('22 2nd Place Winner), Beth-Ann Wilson ('22 3rd Place Winner), Steve Hessler, Rose Kennedy, Lee Halstead, Sean Hatter, Alison Hatter, Pat Brodowski, Scott Maynard, Lauren Waterworth, William Hendricks, Jim Rehak, Mary Veiga, Coakley Brown, Arlene Daniel, Katie Dobson-Cundiff, Alex Eisenzopf, David Finnell, Tarryl Gabel, Matt Gentry, Kim Hall, Kesra Hoffman, Adam Houston, Rajendra KC, David Peacock, Lynne Polley, Orit Reuben, Elizabeth Rhoades, Margaret Sheridan, Elbert Shubert, Leo Stafsnes, Lyudmila Tomova, Jennifer Young, Vicky Zhou

Attend the 2024 Event as a Patron

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Patron Ticket - $125 (Now Available)

Grants Access to Special Patron Events Listed in the Event Schedule Below

Meet the Artists

Click the button below to learn more about our 2024 Floyd Plein Air Biennial Artists!
Schedule
Schedule
Sunday, September 22

Artists arrive in Floyd! 


Artists to check in and have substrates stamped at The Center between 12-5

Monday, September 23

Paint the Blue Ridge Parkway Artists to paint along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. (Mileposts TBD) 


Patron Event: Artist-Patron Meet-the-Artist Reception 6-8pm Pantoufle’s Bistro, Floyd, VA 

Small wet painting sale featuring smaller works from the day.

Tuesday, September 24

Paint Poor Farm Road 

Artists paint expansive views and old homesteads along beautiful Poor Farm Road and the old Pizarro neighborhood.Respite spot at Wood/Radford Homestead. This road will feature expansive views with spectacular sunsets. Fingers crossed for good weather. 


Artist dinner at the Wood/Radford Homestead. Artists will enjoy an old time pot luck dinner. Time to be announced closer to date.

Wednesday, September 25

Paint Along the Way to Callaway 

Artists paint Five Mile Mountain Road, the Phoebe Needles Center, and surrounding community at base of mountain, to include Rock Ridge Rd., Turners Creek, and others announced closer to time. A day trip of sorts. 


Lunch Available, pre-purchase ahead of time. TBA Box lunches and water provided to artists sponsored by PNC on location. 


Artist Demonstration: Blue Ridge Artist Jane Duncan Stogner demonstrates her color and painting techniques mid-day. Time to be announced closer to date. FREE to all.

Thursday, September 26

Paint The Little River 

Artists will set up to paint along the Little River. Thunderstruck Road and Little River Road communities including the On the Water facility. 


Artist/Patron Dinner - The River House (home of Liz Mears) A “nice casual” private gathering for artists, patrons, and volunteers along the Little River shoreline. Heavy hor d’oeuvres. Event included with Patron Pass, free for artists.

Friday, September 27

Paint Floyd 

Artists paint the many iconic scenes within the town limits Catherine’s Garden Locust Street Main Street Jacksonville Cemetery The Pine Tavern The Floyd Center for the Arts Town paint within Floyd Town Limits 


Early Morning Demonstrations for FCHS and town visitors Small group of festival artists volunteer to demonstrate their craft to local art students from Floyd Co. High School and town visitors. Locations TBD with walking distance of the school. Artists encouraged to answer questions and talk about their journeys. 


Patron Event - Judge Talk, Falcon Gallery, FCA 1-2pm Our Festival Judge, Laura McManus, will speak. Subject TBA 


Quick Draw: The Friday Night Jamboree, 6-9pm Our field of competition artists will be joined by non-competition artists in a 3 hour “quick paint.” Artists must paint a scene from start to finish within the 3 hour period. Substrates stamped from 5-6pm at a location TBA, awards for both competition and non-competition artists awarded at Saturday’s Gala! 


Quick Draw Registration for Non-Competitors** 


Quick Draw panels to be turned into Center by 9:30 for hanging in the Breezeway

Saturday, September 28

Quick Draw Exhibition Opens! The Floyd Center for the Arts, Breezeway Gallery A special exhibit featuring the paintings created during the Quick Draw Event, combining both competition and non-competition artists. All work available for purchase. End date of show TBD. 


Open Event: Joli Ayn Wood Painting Demonstration – Bring a chair and join us on the grounds of the Center for a special morning of painting out of doors with Virginia native & Festival Chair Joli Ayn Wood. Joli will talk about and demonstrate her plein air painting skills. Specific location and details TBA closer to the event. $5 donation to attend, patrons attend free of charge. 


Patron Event: Collector’s Reception 5-6pm, Center, Special Preview – Patron passes will allow early access to view and purchase the artists’ paintings created during the week, as well as early access to mingle with artists with complimentary beverages and food. 


Public Gala Celebration and Art Sale! 6-9pm, Center, Hayloft Gallery Public welcome All are welcome to join us at The Floyd Center for the Arts to celebrate the culmination of the festival, view and purchase artwork created during the week. Festival awards and art recognition will take place at 7:30pm. Food and soft beverages provided, Cash Bar open with proceeds to benefit The Center.

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Meet Our Event Judge, Laura McManus

Laura McManus has more than 20 years of experience as an educator and administrator in museum, gallery, studio, and school environments and is passionate about making art and museums accessible to diverse audiences. Since 2016 she has served as the Curator of Education at the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia. In this role, she works with faculty to develop connections with the permanent collection and special exhibitions to the undergraduate curriculum, including coursework development and related assignments, practicum, and exhibitions. She oversees and trains college interns and work study students, develops/coordinates public programs and interpretive materials, develops/ coordinates tour programs for PK-12 students and community groups, directs the volunteer and docent program, and collaborates with local community organizations on outreach programs. McManus also teaches courses in the Museum and Heritage Studies major at Randolph College. Prior to joining the Maier, McManus was the Coordinator of Youth and Family Programs at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC where she managed and developed curricula for eight educational programs for families and children (ages 2 to 14), curated large-scale family and community days, and trained docents on best practices in museum teaching. For six years, she was the Curator of Education at the Museum of Biblical Art in New York City where she spearheaded the educational strategy for the young institution. She oversaw the college internship program and initiated innovative interpretive programs that included audio tours for adults and children, a concert and lecture series, and youth workshops that connected art and literacy. A native of the Pittsburgh area, McManus spent nine years at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild (MCG) in Pittsburgh, PA, serving first as an Art Studio Instructor in drawing, painting, design, and printmaking, and then the Director of Curriculum for the prominent arts and learning center that serves 2000+ urban youth, educators, and artists through innovative, studio and gallery-based programs. Her work in developing standards-based, arts-integrated programs and gallery initiatives for middle and high school students and teachers was instrumental in MCG being recognized with the Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s Council on the Arts & Humanities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Exemplary Youth Programming Award. She is the author of fifteen student and family museum gallery guides, including publications that focus on American artists, M.C. Escher, Louis C. Tiffany, Hildreth Meière, Faith Ringgold, Jerry Uelsmann, and Nick Cave.  McManus has curated numerous youth art exhibitions, including Making Faces: A Portrait of NCMA’s Youth Artists, Artists [in the] Making: Workshops @ MOBIA, and ArtWorks from Art Explorers. McManus has been an invited juror for several contemporary art exhibitions, including for Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and the Academy Center of the Arts. She was a teaching artist at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Everson Museum of Art, and the Noguchi Museum, and a classroom art teacher in the south hills of Pittsburgh.  McManus earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Fine Arts from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Science in Art Education from Syracuse University, where she also received her teaching certification in Art, K-12.  Her graduate research focused on arts-integrated curriculum development, an area she continues to explore. McManus is the Museum Division Chair for the Virginia Art Education Association, and serves on the Exhibitions Committee of Riverviews Artspace in Lynchburg. 

Meet Our Event Chairperson, Joli Ayn Wood

"My name is Joli Ayn Wood and I paint what inspires me. Born in Virginia, I was introduced to art and music at a young age.  An art history graduate of Westhampton College, University of Richmond, I was fortunate to study under New York painter Ephraim Rubenstein, who emphasized the painting methods of the late Charles Hawthorne and the Cape Cod School.  While making a living as a banker for 30 years, I continued to paint and was deeply involved in the local arts scene, maintaining a public studio and organizing local events. In 2016 I committed to painting full time, and in 2018-2019, I was Artist-in-Residence in the Kelley Healing Arts Program with Carilion Healthcare in Christiansburg, VA, working with patients, family members, and hospital staff creating art for healing.  Life changes in 2019 brought my home and art to the North Shore of Boston, MA.  I work mainly in oils, on many different surfaces, and I enjoy painting out of doors, and from life, most of all.  I long to capture what it feels like to be in a place as it is on that day.   When I’m not trekking out to paint the marshes, forests, and rocky coasts of New England, you may find me in my working studio on Oak Street in the Village of Beverly Farms, MA, creating and sharing my painting process, teaching budding artists of all ages.   I have continued my work in healing arts, and more specifically, teaching and demonstrating my craft at local senior facilities.  Aside from painting, I enjoy championing local art organizations, chairing events to promote my fellow artists and increase community engagement in the arts. My passion is to Make It Count every day."

 

- Joli Ayn Wood

Photos From Previous Biennials

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Photo by Dr. Russell Young

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Photo by Dr. Russell Young

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