News Release

Call for Artists: Commemorating Our Nation's Struggle for Freedom

Date: May 23, 2011

Topeka, KS – Calling all Kansas artists! Area artists are encouraged to submit two-dimensional art between now and June 24 that expresses American stories of sacrifice, struggle, and triumph in the pursuit of freedom and equality. Two distinguished jurors will select 25 works based on the art's quality and connection to the exhibit theme. The selected artwork will be displayed at Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site from August 1 to September 29, with cash prizes awarded to the top three selections.

Submissions must relate to the theme of commemorating our nation's struggle for freedom. Since the founding of the United States in 1776, the American people have struggled to overcome racism, prejudice, and discrimination. Many American stories exemplify the long struggle to provide freedom and equality for all Americans. One of these stories is the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education,which declared racial segregation in public schools inherently unequal. Interested artists can find entry requirements and forms at www.nps.gov/brvb or by calling the National Park Service at [phone]. Submissions will be accepted through June 24 and only in the digital formats specified.

The jurors for the art competition are Sherry Best and Cindi Morrison. Sherry Best is the director of the Alice C. Sabatini Galley at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library in Topeka, Kansas. She joined the library in 2003 after teaching photography and art history at Rockhurst University and serving as the director of the Greenlease Gallery in Kansas City, Missouri. Cindi Morrison is the director of the Mulvane Art Museum at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. She coordinates exhibitions, educational programs, and special events with Washburn University and the Friends of the Mulvane Art Museum. She has dedicated her thirty-year career to arts management at a variety of nonprofit visual art organizations.

The competition and exhibition are sponsored by the National Park Service, Western National Parks Association, ARTSConnect Topeka, and the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research and is part of the 2010-2011 program series entitled Commemorating Our Nation's Struggle for Freedom: From Civil War to Civil Rights. For a list of all events and exhibits in the program series, please visit www.nps.gov/brvb and click on the Special Events link.

Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site tells the story of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended legal segregation in public schools. The site is located at 1515 SE Monroe Street in Topeka, Kansas, and is open free of charge from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with the exceptions of Thanksgiving, December 25, and January 1. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/brvb or call [phone].