Tuscaloosa’s Kentuck Festival Reveals Esteemed Judges

The 55^th Kentuck Festival of the Arts is set to feature two distinguished judges, as the Kentuck Art Center welcomes Kim Mitchell and Timothy Weber for this year’s event on October 17 – 18 at Snow Hinton Park in Tuscaloosa.

"Kentuck is grateful to have two judges who have such deep knowledge of folk art, contemporary art, and fine craft," said Exa Cork, executive director of Kentuck Art Center and Festival. "The 270+ artists that come from all over the country to exhibit at the Kentuck Festival always bring their best work, making the judges' job quite the undertaking!"

A total of $12,220 in awards will be presented to exhibiting artists at the Kentuck Festival of the Arts. On Saturday, October 17, judges will evaluate each artist's work and assign numerical scores based on artistic quality, originality, design, composition, technique, and overall presentation.

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More Information on Judges Provided by Kentuck Festival of the Arts

Kim Mitchell is the executive director of Carnegie Visual Art Center in Decatur, Alabama. She has been involved as a volunteer with the Carnegie since its inception in the late 1990s, overseeing the fundraising, renovation, and re-purposing of the 1904 Carnegie Library. She officially came to work at the Carnegie in 2011 as the executive director. With degrees in communications and studies in political science, she has served in executive positions with television and radio stations prior to her position with the museum. In addition, she has served on several boards including the Alabama Art Education Association, Downtown Decatur Redevelopment Association, Junior League of Morgan County, River Clay Fine Arts Festival, and the Urban Arts Initiative. Mitchell is dedicated to bringing artists and art opportunities to North Alabama. She is the current secretary for the Alabama State Council on the Arts and also serves as chair of the long-range planning committee.

Timothy Weber is an artist and craftsman with more than 50 years of experience working with clay. In addition to his artistic practice, he worked as an arts administrator, teacher, gallery owner, and arts advocate. Most recently, he was the Director of the Appalachian Center for Craft and the Director of Visual Art, Craft and Media with the Tennessee Arts Commission. He has participated in scores of national juried arts festivals, including the American Craft Council markets in Dallas, St Louis, Tampa and Charlotte, and the Kentuck Festival of the Arts. Timothy was a Studio Artist at Kentuck Art Center from 1982-1992, and his work continues to be available in Kentuck's Gallery Shop.