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:

Casey Droege is a cultural producer and artist. Droege earned an undergraduate degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and later, an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of the Arts. She recently left her roles in academia, at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, to launch Casey Droege Cultural Productions. CDCP is dedicated to building a stronger arts economy and community in Pittsburgh. Her work has been written about in the New York Times, Quartz, Whirl Magazine, Temporary Art Review, and other publications.

Brian Ferrell is an artist who creates one-of-a-kind furniture, tableware, and lighting in Jeannette, PA while serving on the faculty of Stone Hill University. Since 2000, his work has been shown in over 50 solo and group national exhibitions and published widely. Ferrell was honored with a solo exhibition at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater during the summer of 2008 and was a NICHE Award winner for metal hollowware in 2013. Ferrell completed undergraduate studies in jewelry/metals at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, earned his MFA from the Program in Artisanry at University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

Becky McDonah heads up the Fine Art Metals Area at Millersville University in Pennsylvania and currently serves on the board of the Society of North American Goldsmiths. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and an MFA from Arizona State University. She has participated in numerous nationally and internationally recognized exhibitions, and has lectured and presented workshops across the country.

Clayton Merrell is a Professor of Art at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University. He was 2005 Artist of the Year at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. His work is collected and exhibited widely, including exhibitions at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; Concept Gallery, Pittsburgh; A+D Gallery, Chicago; the Westmoreland Museum of Art, the American Embassy in Belmopan, Belize and the Chautauqua Institution. The Pittsburgh International Airport recently installed a 69,000 square foot terrazzo floor based on his design.

Yoko Sekino-Bové was born in Osaka, Japan. She worked as a graphic designer before her passion for ceramic art took her on a new path through Norman, OK, and an MFA at the University of Oklahoma. Her porcelain work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums. She has participated in several residencies, such as the Arts/Industry residency at John Michael Kohler Art Center, the Archie Bray Foundation, and at Cerdeira Village in Portugal. Her work has also been shown in Canada, Portugal, Japan, Latvia, Turkey, Dominican Republic, and South Korea.