PAINT IT! Ellicott City Event & Exhibition Announced

Artists from around the region will flock to Historic Ellicott City from October 15-18 as Art in Ellicott City presents Paint It! Ellicott City 2020, an annual plein air painting event. The Howard County Arts Council (HCAC) is the host for this paint-out weekend, which culminates in an exhibit of 27 juried artists at the Howard County Center for the Arts.

The guest juror for Paint It! Ellicott City 2020 is award-winning artist and gallery owner Crystal Moll, who selected the following artists for the juried exhibit: Bruno Baran, Marty Barrick, Julia Bowden, Sid Branham, Shawn Costello, Ann J. Crostic, Sharon Crute, Ronaldo Dorado, Vlad Duchev, John Eiseman, Erin Fearns, Rana Geralis, Marita Hines, Nishita Jain, Greg Johannesen, Jane Knighton, Kathleen Kotarba, Michael Kotarba, Amanda Milliner, Debra Moffitt, Lisa Regopoulos, Duane Sabiston, Ann Schaefer, Sandhya Sharma, Sharon Trumbull, Nancy Van Meter, and JoAnn Weiss.

The event begins with a virtual Welcome Reception & Event Kick-Off via Zoom on Wednesday, October 14 at 6pm. Then, all day on October 15-18, artists will set up their easels throughout Ellicott City's historic district to capture the beloved mill town adorned in the brilliant hues of autumn. Members of the public are invited to watch the artists at work from a safe distance while strolling Main Street. Artists and art students from the community can also join the fun by participating in the Open Paint-Out, which takes place concurrently. Artwork created during the Open Paint-Out will be featured in a virtual exhibit.

A virtual reception on Wednesday, October 21 from 6-7pm will include an award ceremony for the exhibit of juried artists' work. More than $8,000 in awards will be presented, including the coveted Gino Awards, two $1,000 cash prizes named in honor of artist Gino Manelli and presented by the Manelli Family. Other awards include a $1,000 prize from Art in Ellicott City and an award sponsored by Patapsco Heritage Greenway.

Registration is free and required to participate in the virtual Open Paint-Out exhibit. Registration is available online at hocoarts.org in the Exhibit Opportunities section of the Arts Council website at hocoarts.org and at the Arts Council before and during the event.

This year's presenting sponsor, Art in Ellicott City, is a private foundation created in 2017 to further the creation and installation of public art in Ellicott City.

Paint It! Ellicott City 2020 will be on display alongside What is WATT?, an immersive installation by Sizhu Li in Gallery II. Li is an artist who employs a unique visual language of immersive kinetic installations to illustrate her understanding of the universe, society, and nature, with influences from both Eastern wisdom and Western philosophy.

Both exhibits run from October 22 to December 12, 2020. Current gallery hours are Tuesday and Thursday 1-7pm and Saturday 10am-4pm. The galleries and the Center for the Arts are closed November 26. NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, gallery hours are subject to change. Please check the website at hocoarts.org to ensure the Center is open before visiting. All visitors to the Center for the Arts are expected to observe posted COVID-19 safety protocols. For more information, visit hocoarts.org.