Artists and photographers are welcome to submit their original works of art to the fourth annual Small Stones Festival of the Arts, a juried fine art painting and photography exhibit. The Festival returns October 15 to the Great Hall, 1 Grafton Common, Grafton, for a live ceremony announcing the winning artists.  

  An artist in each category will win cash awards of $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $100 for third place. Artwork accepted into the exhibit will be included in the hardbound exhibit catalog.

  Apple Tree Arts, the Worcester County Camera Club, the Blackstone Valley Art Association and the Shakespeare Club of Grafton -- four regional art organizations have collaborated to create the exhibit accompanied with music, literary and art-related programs. The Festival runs Oct. 15-24 with free exhibit hours on weekends and weekday evenings of Oct. 20, 21 and 22.

The Festival art call is open for submissions of artwork.  Photography and all forms of two-dimensional artwork are welcomed, with a maximum of three entries per artist. The art call will remain open until 500 entries are received. Visit https://smallstonesfestival.org/ to submit artwork.

                                                        Ghost Rider by Al Weems

                                                 Storm over 175 by Chris Bilodeau.

Three prestigious jurors for each category will select 144 works to appear in the exhibit and catalog. Fine art category jurors include renowned artist Carol Arnold, a member of the Putney group of painters; Charlotte Wharton, a highly accomplished portrait, plein-air and genre artist and Susan Swinand, a prominent painter with a preference for water media. Photography category jurors are David DeMelim, founder and managing director of Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts; Jessica Roscio, director and curator at Danforth Art Museum; and renowned fine art portraiture photographer Al Weems. The 2021 Festival catalog will be sold online in November.

For more information about the festival, visit https://smallstonesfestival.org/ or contact chair Ken Crater, Worcester County Camera Club, [email protected].