A Weekend of Art in All Forms
Whether searching for that perfect piece of artwork to complete your home or simply enjoying engaging with the arts, ArtsQuest is ideal for perusing and purchasing from over 100 artists. The 36th Annual ArtsQuest Fine Arts Festival, produced by the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County, will take place May 4–5 at Grand Boulevard Town Center.
The two-day arts festival features local, regional and national artists in a variety of mediums, including ceramics, sculpture, oils, acrylics, mixed media, photography, glassworks, jewelry and more. Attendees can purchase pieces, view the art and interact with artists.
Each exhibiting artist will be competing for awards and cash prizes totaling $10,000 to be decided by guest judges that include Olga Guy, watercolor artist; Allison Galloway-Gonzalez of Galloway-Gonzalez Consulting; and Katie Kehoe, assistant professor in the sculpture and expanded media area within the FSU Department of Art.
Prize categories include best in show, awards of excellence, judge’s choice, awards of merit, best booth and CAA members tent best in show.
Matapalo by Bradley Copeland
Each year, the festival has a featured artist. The 2024 featured artist is Bradley Copeland, whose custom work “Matapalo” is the featured image on all ArtsQuest marketing materials.
In 2020, Copeland moved to Santa Rosa Beach, where she turned her passion for art into a career. Over the past four years, she’s become extremely prolific, having been awarded the South Walton Artist of the Year Award by Visit South Walton and featured on the cover of Emerald Coast Magazine.
Attendees can look forward to engaging and innovative activities, including art demonstrations, a CAA member gallery featuring many artists from The Foster Gallery, a Walton County student exhibit, a special exhibit from the CAA’s Prison Art program, an interactive public art installation, a silent auction, continuous live music and entertainment and ImagiNation kids area.
Continuing this year is the popular Art on Demand live series, which features educational sessions throughout the weekend. If interested, attendees can register on the Cultural Arts Alliance website before the event. A full cash bar and food options will be available throughout the weekend.
ArtsQuest is part of Art Month Walton County, a collaboration of visual, performing and literary arts events presented in diverse formats and venues throughout Walton County in May.
The festival is open to the public, and no tickets are needed in advance, but a $5 donation is requested. Money raised will be used to support the mission of CAA, which is to support the arts through leadership, advocacy, funding, programming and education. CAA provides support, connection and opportunities for artists of every age, genre and skill level.
To learn more about ArtsQuest and CAA, visit culturalartsalliance.com/arts-quest.
