A sneak peek inside Art Melt

This is the year of the takeover. For the fifth anniversary of Forum 35’s Art Melt Multi-Media Juried Art Competition the event outgrows Brunner Gallery and—thanks to construction of the One Eleven lofts—will utilize not only Brunner, but almost every square inch of the Shaw Center for the Arts, including the fourth floor terrace. New work from past winners will be on display, and the Lyceum Dean across Third Street will host part of the event—possibly arts and crafts vendors or hands-on workshops for children, says Chris Brooks, who co-chairs the event. Brooks says more than 700 pieces were submitted and roughly 70 will be on exhibit.

“We love submissions from Baton Rouge, but we want it to be—and it has been—statewide,” Brooks says. “We want Art Melt to be the mecca for art events in Louisiana.”

The pieces are chosen by this year’s sole juror, Sean Ulmer, the curator of collections and exhibitions at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art in Iowa. Ulmer will name the top three pieces, and any he wishes to recognize as an honorable mention. First place wins $2,000, second wins $1,000 and third wins $500.

“The great thing for me is I get to see work that wouldn’t normally come across my desk,” Ulmer says. “I’ll be looking through everything in one sitting multiple times and picking out the ones that speak to me. It’s always a challenge to narrow things down, but that’s part of the fun.”

For those not chosen, Art Melt has partnered with local nonprofit Culture Candy for Art Melt Salon des Refuges, which will allow patrons to vote for the “best of the rest.”

Mixed-media artist Heather Ryan Kelley won top prize last year with her James Joyce-referencing maze-format artist book titled Lucky Strike. The McNeese State painting professor was surprised her piece won in an open exhibit with a touch of what she calls “lively inclusiveness.” “The fact that the piece is small and ephemeral makes its recognition especially significant,” she says. Kelley’s latest oil on canvas piece will be on display in the past winner’s gallery.

Art Melt is also loaded with live music, and performances by the Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre, the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, the Louisiana Sinfonietta, Of Moving Colors and Playmakers. artmelt.org