A look at the judges of the Sidewalk Arts Festival
SCAD’s 32nd annual Sidewalk Arts Festival was held in Forsyth Park on April 27 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., bringing people from near and far to participate and watch as hundreds decorated the 852 squares to create amazing artwork judged by professors, alumni and community members alike.
“We don’t force their hand in any way,” said event coordinator Trey Reckling. “Obviously we ask them to look for talent and what, according to their own opinion, they think fit the categories.”
The panel changes every year, but the judges for this panel were Dan Reese, Susan Isaacs and Matt Ward. “They do not sign up for it. We try to find people in the field that our students are interested in. It all comes down to networking. Our students get to meet people in the industry and make those connections,” says Reckling. The alumni and professors also recommend students in the fields who can be student judges, helping the three panel members look for the talent spread far and wide around the park.
“The text-to-vote is brand new this year,” says Reckling. “It is a totally separate category. All of the votes for that are from the public; the judges will have nothing to say about that category.” The people voted Kathryn Massey and her friend Katrina Tumasz, both animation majors, into first place, allowing them to be the first participants at the SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival to win this award.
“When we’re tallying, we make sure that we know that if a square were to win ‘Best in Show’ that it is unlikely that it will also win another category,” says Reckling regarding how the judges try to evaluate the works of art and divide them into categories.
The judges start walking around early to watch as the different panels come to life on the concrete. “Different judges have different techniques,” says Reckling. “Some might walk out early and note the squares that look promising or the ones they want to come back and see again later. Some will take pictures with a digital camera. Some of them will cover the whole park with their assistants and then send those assistants back to check on the progress of certain pieces.”
