By June Mathews
There are plenty of reasons for attending the Bluff Park Art Show each year. There’s always an eclectic mix of media, the experience of the show is fresh every time, and enjoying the picturesque setting in a historic community never gets old.
But this year, there’s a good reason for going that one normally wouldn’t associate with an art show: cake.
The 2023 Bluff Park Art Show, presented by the Bluff Park Art Association, is marking its 60th anniversary, and the celebration of a milestone naturally calls for cake. But as special as cake is, it’s far from being the only thing special about the Oct. 7 event.
“This is going to be an exciting show and year for the Bluff Park Art Association,” said Heather Skaggs, publicity and media chair for the association and show. “We are returning to the Bluff Park Community Park after a temporary move to the Met last year due to construction on the pavilion at the park. It is all finished, and we look forward to using the pavilion during show.”
A special touch is the 60th anniversary design created by artists Brittany Carol Moore and her father, Daniel Moore, that will be featured on the show’s T-shirts, advertisements, posters and other materials. Titled “Aftershow, Afterglow,” the colorful design conveys the iconic sunset view from Bluff Park at the summit of Shades Mountain. A stained-glass motif frames the scene.
“The design was nostalgic and fun for my dad to work on,” Brittany Carol Moore said, “and I was honored to be able to contribute a design for the first time.”
As of last week, 140 artists, 35 of them new to the show, had been confirmed. They hail from all over the United States, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
“Our artists go through a juried process to receive an invitation to the show,” Skaggs said, “and we are known for our outstanding artists across multiple mediums.”
In mid-August, the Bluff Park Art Association announced narrative artist Debra Riffe as the judge for this year’s show.
A native of Tupelo, Mississippi, who grew up in Washington, D.C., Riffe earned her BFA from Howard University’s College of Fine Arts. She has been a professional graphic designer and illustrator for more than 30 years.
Through her art, Riffe tells stories of African Americans in everyday moments with underlying themes such as social justice, music, civil rights, illiteracy and food inequality. She illustrates Southern culture in hand-pulled relief prints of woodcuts, linoleum block prints and needlepoint tapestries.
“I’m very proud of the recognition and honor and being selected to judge the 2023 Bluff Park Art Show,” Riffe said. “The Bluff Park Art Show was the very first art show I applied to in my early years, and I received an invitation. I’ve participated in juried art festivals across the region and the state for 20-plus years, but the thrill of being selected as an artist for the Bluff Park Art Show is a feeling that has never been surpassed.”
Riffe won the Bluff Park Art Show’s Best in Show Permanent Collection award in 2012 and 2019.
The Beginning
The seeds for the Bluff Park Art Association and Show were planted in 1963, when a group of Bluff Park School parents came together for the purpose of raising funds for expanding the school library, according to the Bluff Park Association website. Their first fundraising event was a “Come as Your Favorite Book” dance that raised $600 for the library fund.
The following year, the same group, under the auspices of the Bluff Park PTA, held an art show auction to which artists in the community donated their paintings and crafts. Another $850 was added to the library fund.
In 1965, essentially the same group, still working to raise funds for the library, formed a nonprofit organization and held a second art show at the Shades Cliff Community Park, now Bluff Park Community Center. Sixty-five artists participated, and the metro community’s response was overwhelming.
The Bluff Park Art Show was on its way, and the rest, as they say, is history.
One of the most anticipated annual events of the Birmingham area for 60 years, the Bluff Park Art Show is held annually on the first Saturday of October on the beautifully wooded land where it began. It is one of the largest fine arts shows in the region.
“The Bluff Park Art Association works throughout the year to prepare for the show and on scholarships, art education and outreach,” Skaggs said. “We all serve and invest our time and talents to support the arts in Hoover because the arts are an important part of life no matter what age or stage.”
For more information, visit bluffparkartassociation.org and follow the Bluff Park Art Association on Facebook and Instagram.
English (US)