Bethesda Painting Awards

Bethesda Painting Awards

Exhibition dates are June 6 – June 29
Gallery B, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E

The Bethesda Painting Awards is downtown Bethesda’s annual juried art competition that exclusively honors painters from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Eight artists will be selected by the panel of judges to exhibit their artwork in June 2025 at Gallery B in downtown Bethesda.  These eight artists will be eligible for $14,000 in prize monies.  Check back soon for the list of finalists for the 2025 exhibition.

2025 Jury

Kevin Mitchell, Washington, DC

Lecturer of Studio Art, The Catholic University of America

Kevin Mitchell earned his Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from the University of Texas at Austin. Mitchell began teaching drawing and painting classes at The Catholic University of America in the Fall of 2002. He has also taught art courses at Virginia Commonwealth University, Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, VA, and the Arlington Arts Center in Arlington, VA. Mitchell has exhibited his work at galleries which include the Bowery Gallery, New York, NY; Hill Center Gallery in Washington, D.C.; Brentwood Arts Exchange, Brentwood, MD; Signal 66, Washington, D.C.; Dallas Visual Art Center in Dallas, TX; Creative Artist Network in Philadelphia, PA; Anderson Gallery in Richmond, VA; First Street Gallery in New York, NY; PEPCO Edison Place Gallery in Washington, D.C. and Galeria Juan Pardo Heeren in Lima, Peru.

Mary Proenza, Arlington, VA

Associate Professor of Art, Marymount University

Mary Proenza holds a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from New York Studio School, a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from The New School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Literature from UC Santa Barbara’s College of Creative Studies. Recent exhibitions include “Cladogram” at the Katonah Museum of Art, NY, and “Digging In” at Cody Gallery, Arlington, VA. As part of a 2022 NEA Arts Project Grant, she exhibited paintings from her “Memoir” series and created four linoleum cut prints for the collaborative book Truth Comes Slowly. Her art has been featured on book, magazine, and CD covers, including those of Knopf and CMH records. As a writer, her reviews have appeared in Art in America and The Brooklyn Rail. Currently, she’s working on graphic memoir combining visual art and writing, which has been supported by various fellowships, including a 2024 residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Proenza serves as an Associate Professor of Art at Marymount University, Arlington, VA.

James Williams II, Baltimore, MD

James Williams II is an interdisciplinary artist who creates paintings and sculptures centered on topics of racial constructs, systematic racism, and cultural identity in the United States. He received his master’s degree from the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Williams’ paintings integrate non-traditional materials to create layered reliefs. His most recent solo exhibitions have been with UTA Artist Space, Atlanta, GA; LCVA Museum, Longwood, VA; Langer Over Dickie, Chicago, IL; Resort Baltimore, Baltimore, MD. His work has been included in group exhibitions at GAVLAK Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Catalyst Contemporary and Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD among others. Williams is a recipient of the 2022 Janet & Walter Sondheim Art Prize and the MFA Joan Mitchell Foundation award. His exhibitions have been reviewed by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Baltimore Beat, Baltimore Sun, BmoreArt and many more. Williams currently serves as faculty at MICA.

2024 Finalists

Christopher Batten, Baltimore, MD

Christopher Batten, born in Detroit, earned a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Illustration from the College for Creative Studies in 2006. In 2017, he graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art’s LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA program, garnering accolades such as the Hoffberger Merit Scholarship, Dr. Leslie King Hammond Graduate Award, and two AIGA Worldstudio Scholarships. Batten’s art has been showcased in Detroit, New York, San Antonio, Baltimore, and Atlanta, including exhibitions at prominent institutions like the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and Red Bull Arts Detroit. He has been an Artist in Residence at Red Bull Arts Detroit and at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore. Batten is currently teaching at Bard High School Early College Baltimore and serving as an adjunct professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Sanah Brown-Bowers Baltimore, MD

Sanah Brown-Bowers, a self-taught artist, focuses on portraying the Black American experience, notably through captivating portraits and family altars. Her art, blending elements of pop art, fantasy, and intricate details, explores Black joy and nostalgic 80s moments. Through symbolism, she tells stories that transcend time, shedding light on historical injustices and seeking to restore hope to her community. Sanah has earned recognition, including winning 1st place in the McKinney Black History Art Competition and the prestigious Best of Show at the Lenora Rolla Heritage Center Museum. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the University of North Texas and is pursuing her Master of Fine Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

J. Jordan Bruns, Silver Spring, MD

J. Jordan Bruns is a full-time artist based in Maryland, and is a resident artist at Glen Echo Park’s Chautauqua Tower. He recently returned from a three-year sabbatical in Tokyo, Japan where much of his representational aesthetic influences stem from. Bruns holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Painting and Illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a Master’s in Fine Arts in Studio Painting from Indiana University. His love of teaching has led him to branch out and become Director of Art Clinic, a painting and drawing school at Glen Echo Park, MD. His artwork is featured in public collections including Novartis Pharmaceuticals and Kaiser Permanente. Bruns has held solo exhibitions at Long View Gallery in Washington, D.C. and The Indiana University Art Museum. He has participated in group shows, including “Transient Geometries” at The Antelope Valley College Art Gallery, Lancaster, CA and “Color Schooled,” Long View Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Ellen Burchenal, Baltimore, MD

Ellen Burchenal is an artist who makes paintings, drawings and small objects. While teaching for decades at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), she also taught in Florence for the MICA/SACI program in Florence, and directed the MICA Summer Study program in Southern Italy. She has received several Maryland State Arts Council Fellowships, and she has exhibited and lectured in galleries and universities throughout the region and in Italy. Burchenal received her Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College and her Master of Fine arts from MICA. Her work has been exhibited throughout the area and abroad including Sorrento, Italy; Baltimore, MD; Brooklyn, NY and Asheville, NC. 

Barbara Epstein Gruber, Baltimore, MD

Barbara Epstein Gruber discovered her passion for art at a young age and eventually pursued her artistic education, earning a Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an Masters in Fine Arts from Brooklyn College. Her work has been showcased in solo and group exhibitions, and has won Best in Show and Honorable Mention awards on national and regional levels by esteemed jurors such as Klauss Kertess, Bernard Chaet, Samuel Hoi, and Doreen Bolger. She has been a finalist for the Klots Residency in Lehon, France, and her paintings, drawings and portraits of people and pets are held in private collections in the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom. She currently teaches at the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Johns Hopkins University.

Lou Haney, Charlottesville, VA

Lou Haney earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art from Rhodes College and her Masters in Fine Arts in Painting from Claremont Graduate University. She’s honed her craft at MacDowell and the Vermont Studio Center. In 2022, she was a resident at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Haney received the Mississippi Art Commission Individual Artist Fellowship in 2008. Her work has graced solo exhibitions across various states, including California, Virginia and Massachusetts. Notably, her painting “Bedlam” was showcased at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art and ArtFields 2022. In 2023, she held a solo exhibition at the Jones-Carter Gallery in Lake City, SC. Her recent exhibition, “Leisure Suit,” opened in April 2024 at Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, VA. Currently, she shares her expertise teaching studio art and art history at several institutions in Charlottesville, VA.

Mary Proenza, Riverdale Park, MD

Mary Proenza holds a Masters in Fine Arts in painting from New York Studio School and in creative writing from The New School, as well as a Bachelors of Arts in literature from the University of California Santa Barbara. Recent exhibitions include “Cladogram” at the Katonah Museum of Art, NY, and “Digging In” at Cody Gallery, Arlington, VA. Awarded a 2022 NEA Arts Project Grant, she showcased her “Memoir” series and created four linoleum cut prints to the collaborative book Truth Comes Slowly. Proenza’s art has been featured on book and CD covers for publishers like Knopf and CMH Records. As a writer, her reviews have appeared in Art in America and The Brooklyn Rail. Currently, she’s crafting a graphic memoir combining visual art and writing supported by various fellowships, including the 2022 Mid Atlantic Arts Fellowship at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. Proenza serves as Associate Professor of Art at Marymount University, Arlington, VA.

Elaine Qiu, College Park, MD

Elaine Qiu is a multidisciplinary artist works in painting, drawing, printmaking, installation and video. She values the ancient power of storytelling and is fascinated by how memories and experiences are constructed and stored. Viewing herself as both a chronicler and a participant of our time, she works to preserve a fragment of a larger narrative and provide a unique perspective on the intricate web of the human experience. Her work hovers between representation and abstraction, highlighting the interplay of time, memory, and identity. Transitioning from journalism to art, she earned a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Maryland and a Bachelors in Fine Arts from George Mason University. Qiu’s pieces have graced solo and group exhibitions at venues like IA&A Hillyer in Washington D.C., and The Torpedo Factory Art Center, University of Maryland and George Mason University.

Exhibition

The work of the finalists will be on exhibit June 2025 at Gallery B, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E in downtown Bethesda.

June 6 – July 6, 2025
Thursday – Sunday, 12–5pm
Opening Reception: Friday, June 6, 6-8pm

Founder & Chair

Founder, Carol Trawick

The Bethesda Painting Awards was established by Carol Trawick. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda. She is the Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, Past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. and founder of The Trawick Prize. Additionally, Ms. Trawick was Chair of the Glen Echo Park Implementation Committee, Vice Chair of the Montgomery County Parks Foundation and is a member of the Bethesda Chevy Chase Rotary Club. She is a past recipient of the Greater Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Award, the YMCA Community Service Award, the Rotary Public Service Award and the American Association of University Women Service Award. Additionally, the Jim & Carol Trawick Foundation was established in 2007 after the Trawick’s sold their successful information technology company. 

Chair, Catriona Fraser

Catriona Fraser, award-winning photographer, curator and juror is the non-voting Chair of the Bethesda Painting Awards. Ms. Fraser she has orchestrated, organized, curated and juried more than 100 fine art exhibits, and remains active is supporting the careers of emerging artists. Ms. Fraser also serves as Chair of The Trawick Prize and Director of the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival.

Painting Application

The Bethesda Painting Awards was established by Carol Trawick in 2005. 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. 

Awards

Best in Show – $10,000
Second Place – $2,000
Third Place – $1,000
Young Artist* – $1,000
*Young Artist whose birthday is after February 26, 1995 may be awarded this prize.

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

Eligibility

The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites eligible artists to enter the Bethesda Painting 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 June 2025 at Gallery B in downtown Bethesda, MD.

All original 2-D painting including oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, encaustic and mixed media will be accepted. The maximum dimensions should not exceed 60 inches in width. 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:
February 26, 2025

Questions?

Contact Jason Liu at jliu@bethesda.org.

Online Application

Apply Online 

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

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