The Trawick Prize

The Trawick Prize

Applications are due by April 30, 2025
Finalist Exhibition September 4 – 28, 2025
Gallery B, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District honors artists from Maryland, Washington, D.C. & Virginia.

Now seeking artists! Applications are open and due by April 30, 2025. Artists who live in DC, MD and VA, and are over 18 years of age are eligible to apply. The exhibition of finalists will be held in September 2025 at Gallery B.

The 2024 winners were Pedro Ledesma III (Best in Show), Scott Pennington(2nd place), James Stephen Terrell (3rd place) and Paloma Vianey (Young Artist).

2024 Finalists

Rosemary Feit Covey, Alexandria, VA

Rosemary Feit Covey’s artwork is housed in over 40 museum and library collections worldwide, including Yale University Art Gallery, New York Public Library Print Collection, National Museum of American History, Harvard University, and the Papyrus Institute in Cairo, Egypt. In 2012, 500 of her prints were acquired for the permanent collection of Georgetown University Library, Special Collections. She is the recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship (Bellagio Italy), an Alpha Delta Kappa Foundation National Fine Art Award, and a fellowship to Georgetown University Medical Center as the 2007-2008 Artist-in-Residence. Her solo museum exhibitions include the Butler Museum of American Art, Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, Morton Fine Art and International Museum of Surgical Science in Chicago. Currently, she is working with two botanists and an entomologist who have greatly aided in inspiring and informing her most recent series of work.

David Enrique Guarnizo, Richmond, VA

David Enrique Guarnizo earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Universidad Nacional de Columbia, and is working towards his Master of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University. His artistic practice is based on his physical relationship with the territory and the elements/concepts of line, limit and border. He has participated in group exhibitions such as “Nuevos Nombres – Banco de la República” (Colombia, 2018), “The Nature of Things: Humboldt, Comings and Goings” (Humboldt Forum, Berlin, 2019) and the Artecámara pavilion of the International Art Fair of Bogota ARTBO. He held his first solo exhibition at the Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, MAMBO in 2014. David has been the winner of nearly 25 individual and collective grants and distinctions. He has been head of education at the Museums of Art and Numismatics of the Banco de la República and MAMBO.

Pedro Ledesma III, Alexandria, VA

Pedro Ledesma III was born in South Dakota and raised in a small town in Texas, and has always appreciated wide, open spaces and small communities. His mixed Korean Mexican heritage and extensive time abroad have broadened his perspective on cultures and the importance of family. Pedro’s photography journey has evolved from documenting beauty in everyday moments to using his camera as a tool for social change, echoing the justice-focused themes he probed in economics. He explores the complexities of social and economic inequities, alongside his own identity in America. Through his creative work, Pedro aims to spark positive change towards greater equality by exploring how these national issues unfold on the stage of small-town America. Pedro received his Master of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University, and earned his Bachelor of Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Master of Arts from Columbia University.

Rebecca Oh, Richmond, VA

Rebecca Oh is a Korean-American artist and educator. She graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) with a Bachelors in General Fine Arts and a concentration in Painting. She went on to study and receive her Masters of Art in Teaching at MICA in 2018. Her art revolves around her experiences as an introverted woman who must constantly navigate through intersecting spheres of family, religion, sexual and cultural identity, and mental illness. She uses art as a means to filter and analyze the world around her, and communicate these findings to others in an attempt to connect, educate, and relate. She is currently a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she is extending her practice into interactive installation and sculptural woodworking.

Scott Pennington, Baltimore, MD

Scott Pennington specializes in large-scale participatory installation and sculptural assemblage works. Drawing upon his background as a furniture and cabinetmaker, Pennington utilizes woodworking and construction techniques to create colorful, detailed works of art that engage varied audiences and invigorate public spaces. Pennington earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and was a 2022 Baker Artist Award Finalist as well as a Sondheim Prize Semifinalist in 2017 and 2018. His work has been displayed work in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Arizona. Pennington’s work suggests a tangible, yet illusory reality that examines labor, consumer culture, and the pursuit of simple pleasures, and the construction of nostalgic human connections both genuine and fictitious.

Tony Shore, Baltimore, MD

Tony Shore is recognized for his paintings on black velvet of blue-collar life. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art and his Master of Fine Arts from Yale University School of Art. He also studied at the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. His Awards include The Walter and Janet Sondheim Prize, Bethesda Painting Awards Best in Show, a Baltimore Artist Rubys Grant, several Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards, and a Franz and Virginia Bader Grant. His work has been exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art, The Delaware Art Museum, The Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, The Noyes Museum, Kunstalle Beacon, Anna Zorina Gallery, George Adams Gallery, C. Grimadis Gallery, Ethan Cohen Fine Arts, Gavlak gallery, and Karlye Packer Gallery, among many others. Tony has been a professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art for 24 years where he recently served seven years as the chair of the Painting Department.

James Stephen Terrell, Washington, D.C.

James Stephen Terrell is a native Washingtonian who was raised in Ward 7. He received his high school diploma from Gonzaga College High School, his Bachelor of Fine Art from Howard University, and his Master of Fine Arts from Parsons School of Design. He also earned his Master of Divinity Degree from the Union Theological Seminary with a concentration on Theology and the Fine Arts. While attending Union Theological Seminary, he pursued Fine Arts painting elective courses at Columbia University. Terrell has taught art for over 15 years in DC Public Schools. Terrell has exhibited his work in group exhibitions including Ohio, Vermont, New York and Wisconsin. His work has also been featured in multiple solo shows including the Visions and Voices Biggs Museum in Dover, DE.

Paloma Vianey, Washington, D.C.

Paloma Vianey is an interdisciplinary artist from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and is currently based in Washington D.C. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from University of Texas, El Paso and her Master of Fine Arts from Cornell University. She has received grants from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, the National Fund of the Arts in Mexico, and a fellowship from The Phillips Collection. In 2018 Vianey realized a large-scale public art installation on the Americas-Cordova International Bridge along the U.S.-Mexico border. She has been awarded residences at Fundación Antonio Gala in Spain and The Studios of Key West, Florida. Vianey has exhibited her work at El Paso Museum of Art, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, the Herbert F. Johnson Museum, the Antonio Gala Foundation, Jack Hanley Gallery, the Mexican Consulate at El Paso Texas, the Archeology and History Museum of El Chamizal in Ciudad Juárez, and others.

2025 Jury

Shannon Leah Collis

Associate Professor of Art at University of Maryland

Shannon Leah Collis is a multidisciplinary artist who creates audiovisual installations and interactive environments that highlight the situated, embodied experience of hearing and seeing. Her work has been widely exhibited across North America and abroad, including solo exhibitions at The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art, Ursinus College, PA; The Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College, GA; Grizzly Grizzly, Philadelphia, PA; and Open Studio Contemporary Printmaking Centre Toronto, Canada. Other collaborations and screenings include projects at the Burrinja Cultural Centre, Australia; the Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA) Australia, the Walters Art Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Baltimore, MD; and the Currents New Media Festival, Santa Fe, NM). Collis received her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. She is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Maryland, where she teaches digital media and sound.

Andy Holtin

Department Chair and Associate Professor of Art at American University

Andy Holtin teaches all levels of sculpture, addressing traditional media as well as installation formats, kinetic and interactive systems, and digital audio and video at American University. His work uses technological systems to create performative objects and interactive installations, incorporating an exploratory range of materials and processes. Holtin currently works as half of the collaborative duo CausalityLabs, pursuing projects that explore mechanisms as a metaphor for human experience and perception. His work has been exhibited internationally at locations including Galerie35, Berlin, Germany; Museo Antropologico y de Arte Contemporaneo, Ecuador; Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo, Mexico City; Planetario Alfa Science and Culture Museum, Mexico; and nationally at museums, galleries, and universities from New York to Portland to Florida. Holtin earned his Master of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Sculpture + Extended Media program.

Dr. Massa Lemu

Associate Professor of Art, Sculpture + Extended Media at Virginia Commonwealth University

Massa Lemu is an Associate Professor of Sculpture + Extended Media. He is a Malawian visual artist and writer whose multi-disciplinary artistic practice takes the form of text, performance, and multimedia installations that are concerned with the contradictions of migration, and the psychological effects of an immaterial, flexible and mobile capitalism on the post-colonial subject. Lemu makes interventions into objects to comment on their social, economic, or spiritual aspects. Sometimes he uses aesthetics of politics to comment on the politics of aesthetics. Lemu earned his Ph.D in visual arts from the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town, South Africa; his Maste of Arts in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design; and his Bachelor Education in Fine Art from the Chancellor College University of Malawi Zomba, Malawi.

Exhibition

Selected finalists will have their work on display September 4 – September 28, 2025 in downtown Bethesda at Gallery B, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E. The Gallery is located just two blocks from the Bethesda Metro station and parking is available in the public lot on Woodmont Avenue.

Trawick Prize Gallery Hours:
Thursday – Sunday, 12 – 5pm

Opening Reception:
Friday, Sept. 12, 6-8pm

Founder & Chair

Founder, Carol Trawick

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards was established by Carol Trawick in 2003. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She currently serves as Chair of the Maryland State Arts Council. Trawick formally served as Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc., Chair of Strathmore Music Center, President of Bethesda Chevy Chase Rotary Club and Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Parks Foundation. She was honored as the 2010 Montgomery County Philanthropist of the Year and named Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine. She was elected to the Montgomery County Business Hall of Fame in 2012. Also in 2012, Trawick created the 10th Anniversary Sapphire Award to honor the 10 Trawick Prize winners from 2003-2012. The Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 after the Trawicks sold their successful information technology company. She also established the now annual Bethesda Painting Awards.

Chair, Catriona Fraser

Catriona Fraser, award-winning photographer, curator and juror is the non-voting Chair of The Trawick Prize. Fraser has directed the Fraser Gallery since 2002 and also serves on the Washington ASchool of Photography Advisory Board and Washington Art Works Board. Her work has been exhibited in the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburg, PA; the Otero Museum in Colorado, and throughout Europe and Latin America. Additionally, she has organized, curated and juroies more than 100 fine art exhibits, She remains actively engaged in supporting the careers of local, emerging artists and teaches an intensive six hour business and marketing seminar, “Success as an Artist.” Fraser serves as Chair of the Bethesda Painting Awards and is the Director of the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival.

Application

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards was established by Carol Trawick in 2003. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is past Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. and Founder of The Trawick Prize. Additionally, the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 after the Trawicks sold their successful information technology company. Catriona Fraser, award-winning photographer, curator and juror is the nonvoting Chair of the The Trawick Prize. Ms. Fraser is the owner of the Fraser Gallery.

Awards

Best in Show – $10,000
Second Place – $2,000
Third Place – $1,000
Young Artist* – $1,000
*Young Artist whose birthday is after April 30, 1995 may be awarded this prize.

The Jurors will select up to 10 finalists who will be invited to display their work in a group exhibition at Gallery B in downtown Bethesda in September 2025.

Eligibility

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites eligible artists to enter The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards. Artists must be 18 years of age or older and permanent, full-time residents of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. The selected artwork will be on exhibit in September 2025 at Gallery B in downtown Bethesda, MD.

All original 2-D and 3-D fine art including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fiber art, digital, mixed media and video will be accepted. The maximum dimensions should not exceed 96 inches in any direction. No reproductions. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years and must be available for the duration of the exhibition. Artwork does not have to be for sale at the exhibition. Selected artists must deliver and pick up artwork to and from Gallery B. All works on paper must be framed to full conservation standards

Important Dates

Deadline for application:
April 30, 2025

Notification Emailed:
By May 31, 2025

Exhibition Date:
September 2025

Questions?

Contact Emma Zanello at ezanello@bethesda.org.

Online Application

Apply Online

Create a an account and user login. Upload images and pay $25 entry fee via major credit card. 

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