Selection Panel

The 2013 competition will be juried by Cynthia Connelly, Alexander Heilner and Vesela Sretenović.

Cynthia Connolly, Photographer and Visual Arts Curator at Artisphere, Arlington, VA, was born in Los Angeles, and grew up in Washington, D.C. where she attended the Corcoran School of Art (bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design 1985). In 2003 she received a certificate from Auburn University’s design/build architecture program The Rural Studio. Internationally shown and a prolific artist, she is known for works in the Beautiful Losers exhibit, the book Banned in DC, her post cards, and curatorial work at DC Space, the Ellipse Arts Center and Artisphere. Her photography is in many private collections as well as the Smithsonian Museum of American History and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Her art connects disparate places, people and things.

Alexander Heilner is a multi-disciplinary artist who works in photography, video, digital imaging, installation, lighting design and sculpture. His work has been exhibited, screened, and performed nationally and internationally, from MoMA to Burning Man. Earlier this year, he won Baltimore’s Baker Artist Prize and his commissioned digital collages were featured in the new Johns Hopkins Hospital complex. Alex earned his bachelor’s degree at Princeton University and his master’s degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He has been teaching photography at Maryland Institute College of Art since 2003, and currently serves as the college’s Associate Dean of Design and Media Studies.

Dr. Vesela Sretenović is senior curator of modern and contemporary art at The Phillps Collection in Washington, D.C. She joined The Phillips Collection in January of 2009, bringing significant experience as a museum professional and scholar. Prior to joining the Phillips, Sretenović spent 10 years as curator at the David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University. She has also taught courses in contemporary art and art theory at the Rhode Island School of Design. Earlier in her career, Sretenović worked for the University at Buffalo (SUNY) Art Gallery and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, as well as several galleries in New York. She received her doctorate in humanities from Syracuse University; a master’s degree in modern art history, theory, and criticism from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and a bachelor’s degree in the history of art from the University of Belgrade, former Yugoslavia.

Special Events

 2013 Event Series