Thursday evening, January 26, marked the opening of the 2023 Pee Dee Regional Art Competition sponsored by Chick-fil-A of Florence at the Florence County Museum’s Waters Gallery in downtown Florence, SC. 

This year’s competition juror was contemporary mixed media artist Alice Stone-Collins of Atlanta GA. The Pee Dee Regional has been presented annually since 1954 and is one of the longest-running competitive art exhibitions in the state.

The $1500 First Place prize was awarded to Sophia Shumaker of Florence, for her figurative embroidered soft sculpture, Symbioses. Collins complimented Shumaker’s, detail and presence, “allowing us to become comfortable with different parts of ourselves and one another.” 

A Second Place award of $1000 went to veteran Regional competitor Treelee MacAnn of Myrtle Beach, for her intricate woodcut relief print, Resilience, To and Fro. 

Third Place ($500) was awarded to Kevin Spaulding of Florence, for his oil painting, The Crows. Spaulding has been featured in several competitions in recent years, including the Pee Dee Regional as well as ArtFields in Lake City.

Honorable Mention ($250) was awarded to Charles Clary of Conway for his mixed media and cut paper assemblage, Memento Morididdle Movement #600. Clary received his MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design and is now an Associate Professor of Studio Art at Coastal Carolina University.

The exhibit this year is composed of 29 works of art selected from 146 submissions by 73 artists representing northeastern South Carolina. As in previous years, the 2023 Pee Dee Regional was open to submissions of contemporary art created within the last two years by all artists within the state’s northeastern Pee Dee region. 

The exhibit is now open to the public and will remain on display through Friday, April 7, 2023 in the FCM Waters Gallery, 135 South Dargan St. Visitors are invited to join the awards selection by casting their ballots for the Jo Ann Fender Scarborough People’s Choice Award. Voting for the People’s Choice Award is open through Friday, March 24. The winner will be announced Monday, March 27.

Thank you to Chick-fil-A of Florence for their continued support of the Florence County Museum and the Pee Dee Regional.

The exhibit can be viewed at flocomuseum.org/exhibitions/2023-pee-dee-regional and at the Florence County Museum Waters Gallery, 135 South Dargan Street, Monday – Friday: 10:00am – 5:00pm, now through Friday, April 7.

For more information about the Pee Dee Regional Art Competition and other upcoming exhibits and events, please contact the Florence County Museum at 843.676.1200 or visit the website at flocomuseum.org.