SLAF Program Guide 2024

2024 JURORS The Jury Process The jury is composed of a distinguished panel of professional art experts with diverse backgrounds. A total of five jurors and the Executive Director of Cultural Festivals comprise the panel that selects the show’s participants from those submitting entries. We thank this year’s panel for their tireless work and dedication to the integrity of the show. 2024 Jurors Marian Nunn has always had a dedication to the arts and education. With her husband, Tom Wendel, they are significant art collectors and have many museum quality pieces from around the world. She is an emeritus president for the St. Louis Art Fair. Her community service includes United Way, The Sheldon Concert Hall, The Solar Foundation, and Easter Seals Midwest. She was a co founder and past president of the Youth Learning Center, emeritus president of The Wilson School, and St. Louis Visionary Awards. She is a prior president of Women of Achievement, Trustee for the St. Louis Art Museum and a past president for Jazz St. Louis. Carlos Antonio Colón will serve as a juror for the 2024 SLAF. Carlos is a visual artist. He holds an MFA in Painting from SCAD, where he currently works and pursues a second master’s degree in art history. Originally from Puerto Rico, he now resides in Savannah, Georgia, with his wife and children. Carlos has previously taught Art and a lab in Chemistry at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, and visual design at SCAD. A resident of Tampa FL and a professional artist since 1979, John Costin captures in visual form the rich and diverse bird life using the etching process. With a background in contemporary art, he creates life size images of birds that explore nuances indigenous to that species. A graduate of USF in Tampa, he learned the basics of printmaking and mastered his own technique with many years of sweat, experimentation and problem solving. In 2023, he had a 6-month solo exhibition of his work at the Tampa Bay History Center. His book of 20 etchings “Large Florida Birds” was completed in 2020 with the foreword written by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Jack E. Davis. 2024 Peer Jurors Scott Hartley began his career as a high school biology teacher with a desire to make a positive impact on others’ lives. His passion for art and the process of blowing glass drew him from teaching to becoming a full-time artist. After 25 years in the field of glass, Scott’s glasswork has been recognized in galleries, museums, art shows and corporate and private collections throughout the world. Scott’s studio and gallery space, Infinity Art Glass, is located in Benton, Kansas, where he still loves educating visitors as they experience his work and the process of glass blowing. Debra Adelson is a contemporary studio jewelry artist from Collingswood, NJ. Debra earned a BFA from Tyler School of Art with a degree in Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing. Her current body of work combines glass making, jewelry, and lapidary techniques. Debra has exhibited her award-winning work for over 25 years in major national juried art shows and as well as in galleries and museum shops including the National Museum for Women in the Arts, The National Portrait Gallery, and Corning Museum of Glass and is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Arts and Design, NYC. In 2023, Debra received a prestigious fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. 36