Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition

Choosing Artists for the Sidewalk Sale

As part of the annual Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition’s jury process, almost 1,000 artists from the United States and several foreign countries submit digital images of their work to be juried. In February, a panel reviews the images and the artists receiving the highest scores are accepted into the Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition.

To encourage and support the visual arts on a regional basis, the Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition sets aside booth spaces for artists whose primary residence is in the following Central Pennsylvania counties: Blair, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin and Union. Through the Central Pennsylvania Division of the Sidewalk Sale, many artists have been introduced to exhibiting at juried outdoor shows. All exhibitors in the Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition are subject to the same rules, pay the same fees, and are eligible for the same awards.

Our jurors visit each exhibitor during the Festival as part of the jury process and subsequently award over $17,500 in prize money. These award winners are announced at the awards ceremony at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday during the Festival, at the Allen Street Stage. Here are this year’s jurors:

Much to her mother’s dismay, Brienne Brown owned little clothing that was not covered in paint. Although she loved—and showed promise—in art, she loved the sciences as well and earned a graduate degree in chemistry. She left her job as a toxicologist to rear her first child in 2008, and took the opportunity to paint more consistently and study with artists whose work she admired. She is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society, Western Federation of Watercolor Societies, Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, and Utah Watercolor Society.

Brian Giniewski is a Philadelphia-based ceramic designer who makes delicious looking pots that are oozing with pastel candy-colored glazes—the result, he says, of both science and kiln magic. A college professor-turned-full time maker, Brian works out of his studio at the Globe Dye Works building. Before becoming a full-time potter, he served as Senior Windgate Fellow at Herron School of Art + Design, and also taught at Arcadia University, Penn State University and the Nova Scotia College of Art + Design.

Pat Little recently retired as an exhibiting Festival artist and doing shows (and winning awards) across the country. A Centre County native, he began his career as a photojournalist for Penn State’s student newspaper, the Daily Collegian, and went on to a great career as a sports photographer for The Centre Daily Times. He is an alumnus of both Penn State and Ohio University.

Lynette Santoro-Au is the arts manager for the City of Upper Arlington Ohio. An alumna of The Ohio State University, she serves as an emeritus member of the Columbus Arts Marketing Association and is an active member of the Greater Columbus Events Council, Northwest Arts Partners and the Columbus Museum of Arts’ Contemporaries. She volunteered with the Columbus Arts Festival for 15 years and works to make the arts a part of the everyday lives of the citizens of Upper Arlington most notably as the director of the annual Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival.

James Thurman is an Associate Professor at the University of North Texas’ College of Visual Arts & Design in Denton, TX. Thurman earned his undergraduate degree in sculpture at Carnegie Mellon University and his MFA in metalsmithing from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. In 2012 and 2016, he was a Fulbright Specialist Scholar in Istanbul, Turkey. A highly active studio artist for nearly twenty years, his work has been included in hundreds of national and international curated and juried exhibitions as well as ten solo exhibitions in the past ten years.