Online voting now open for MIGreatArtist contest

Public online voting to choose the top 20 artists in the MIGreatArtist competition is now open. More than 120 artists who live, work, or go to school in the Economic Growth Alliance (EGA) region submitted their works to MIGreatArtist.com. Voting will continue through Aug. 17. All are eligible to vote. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Park West Gallery Founder/CEO Albert Scaglione launched the contest at the Southfield gallery last month. "Some great works of art were submitted to the MIGreatArtist website," Patterson said. "We encourage the artists and their supporters to use their social media to encourage votes not just locally but from around the world." The top 20 artists will be posted at MIGreatArtist.com on Aug. 18. A five-member jury of arts professionals will select five semi-finalists from the top 20 artists. The five semi-finalists will be announced Aug. 24. The winner then will be determined by a combination of jury score and public vote. The semi-finalists will be on display at Park West Gallery Sept. 4-28. The winner will be revealed Sept. 14 at an awards ceremony at Park West Gallery. All submissions are original works of art that are 2-D, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, ink, pastel, and collage, among others. Photography and digital artworks were excluded from the competition. Published: Thu, Jul 26, 2012