Drawing and Painting Professor Diane Edison was recently selected as a regional jurer in the newly launched US XL Catlin Art Prize program. The US XL Catlin Art Prize is at its core a celebration of figurative imagery in contemporary art practice. It seeks out artist who work in this tradition to reward them with significant financial prizes to continue their art making. This is a national exhibition open to undergraduate and graduate students, with the requirement a figurative piece.

Building on a 10-year legacy of the Catlin Art Prize in the UK, which recognized young artists through publication in a prestigious guide and a well-regarded London exhibition, the US XL Catlin Art Prize will be a juried contest and exhibition of 2-D figurative work (painting or drawing) by undergraduate or graduate art students enrolled in US art programs. The contest is sponsored by XL Catlin, a major art insurer, and the exhibit will tour Chicago and San Francisco, culminating in an exhibition and awards presentation at the Academy in New York City. The program is planned to evolve and to include additional cities over time.

The US XL Catlin Art Prize program formally launched December 2017 through press, social media and direct institutional outreach. In addition to the advisory jury, there will be a submission jury, responsible for determining the 40-piece exhibition, and a New York-based prize jury, which will determine the 1st and 2nd prize winners; a 3rd prize winner will be determined through an audience award on social media. The 1st prize is a $10,000 cash prize and 2nd prize will be $3,500. The exhibition will go on tour in the fall of 2018. XL Catlin Insurance has devoted significant financial resources to the launch. For more information, visit their Facebook and Instagram.

Professor Diane Edison has taught at the Lamar Dodd School of Art since 1992, teaching in the Drawing and Painting area. She has also traveled to Cortona, Italy on the Cortona study abroad program and the Ghana Study abroad with the school of Social Work. Professor Edison was awarded the Fulbright Scholar Grantee Senior Lecturer/Researcher Sofia, in Sofia Bulgaria. During the spring of 2019 Professor Edison will be the Francis Niederer Artist in Resident at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.