The Gallery at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) will host the 2009 Mercer County Photography show. The biennial exhibition is open to anyone 18 years or older who lives, works or goes to school in Mercer County. In an open call for submissions, pieces are being sought for judging on August 29.

All images must be created utilizing photographic processes, including black and white, and color photography, non-silver processes, book art, and computer-derived photography, to be eligible. All work must have been created within the past two years. All two- and three-dimensional work must be appropriately presented for gallery installation. Two-dimensional work must be framed and wired for hanging.

All work must be delivered by hand to The Gallery, CM Building, Mercer County Community College West Windsor campus on August 29 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. All work NOT selected for the exhibit must be picked up by 5 pm on August 29. All photographs selected for the exhibition will be insured against damage and theft while on exhibit at The Gallery. The prospectus is available for download in the More Information box to the right.

Awards will be given to the best presentations in several categories, and the recipients will be honored at the opening reception, which is scheduled for September 16 from 5 pm to 7:30 pm in The Gallery. The exhibit will be on display until October 8. The invitation card is available for download in the More Information box to the right.

Award-winning photographer/printmaker, Edward Fausty will judge each submitted piece and choose the award winners. He holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from Cooper Union and a master of fine arts degree from Yale University. He is a recent visiting artist at Princeton University; and is known both for his photograph series—Camera Vision: A Fragile Utopia—and his experimental ink on paper works and collotypes.

The recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Survey Grant in Photography, Mr. Fausty exhibits widely and has works in many collections including The George Eastman House, The U.S. Library of Congress, and Yale University.

Entrants are judged for their subject matter, their overall composition and their technical excellence. Photographers accepted into the show have the opportunity to win some of the more that $1,000 in prizes, including Best of Show, Juror’s Merit, Honorable Mention, and several purchase awards. Juror Merit winners will be chosen by Edward Fausty himself for having special artistic value. Pieces purchased by the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission will become a permanent part of the art collection.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Gallery, in partnership with the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission. The Commission will provide funding for Mercer County Art Collection Purchase Awards. The exhibit is also funded by the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment of the Arts.

The Mercer County Photography Show will be on exhibit from September 8 until October 8 in The Gallery on the Mercer County Community College West Windsor campus. The Gallery is located on the second floor of the Communications (CM) Building of MCCC at 1200 Old Trenton Road in West Windsor. The Gallery is free and open to the public. Additional directions can be found at www.mccc.edu/welcome_directions. For more information about the exhibit, please call (609) 530-3589 or visit www.mccc.edu. To download a prospectus, please see the More Information to the right.