McLean County Arts Center

MCAC One-Hour Art Challenge

The next MCAC HOUR art challenge will be held on:

Sat. Sept. 20, 2025, 10am-11am

Artists participating in our first MCAC Artist's Challenge. Crowd of people painting while being watched by onlookers.

Generously Co-Sponsored by:

& Alexis Kalish

Come join us at the end of each term for our one-hour art challenge!

Winter/Spring= May Summer= September Fall= January

One hour. 12 Artists. Crowd chosen winners!

FREE DONUTS AND COFFEE!

Prizes!

RULES:

Bring your own supplies. 16 x 20 stretched canvases will be provided ( courtesy of our sponsor Blick art materials). You are welcome to bring in your own paper for watercolor or pastel work. All substrates must be entirely free of any marks, sketches, stains, etc. You are welcome to pre-gesso a canvas as long as it remains pure white with no other marks.
any methods are allowed besides spraying, pouring, flinging, or other potentially damaging methods of using materials that might dirty the gallery space, floors, or art being displayed on the walls or cause too many aromatic fumes to saturate the space. (collage, oils, acrylics, pastels, charcoal, pencils, pens, markers, inks, watercolors, are all fine!). If you use aromatic fluids to clean or thin your paint please keep it in a sealable container, with a lid over the fluids, when not in immediate use to reduce fumes.
Participating artists' work must remain in the room for the entirety of the hour.
All artists are given one full hour to complete their artwork and must drop all brushes, pencils, and/or pastels when prompted to.
The audience will then vote for their three favorite artists (one vote per competitor- spread the love)
Prizes are awarded to the top 3 artists with the most votes! Ties are broken by curator and Director votes. In the event that first or second place ties the tie breaking vote will establish the winner and the remaining placements will all shift down (eg. Two people tie for 1st place: one will be awarded 1st and the second becomes 2nd place. The artist that was previously 2nd place moves down to 3rd.)

VIEWERS VOTE!

(votes are numbered and must be used one per unique contestant. Duplicate votes per contestant will be counted as one total vote. (eg. if that number appears multiple times within the same artists bowl all multiples will be ignored and one vote will be allotted to that artist. Please vote for a different artist with each vote!)

Donations go towards prizes, and funding future art challenges.

Your generosity is appreciated!

Participation is FREE!

PAST EVENTS:

1st Challenge- May 25th 2024, PROMPT: Landscapes, Open Medium, 16x20

Winners: 1st Place: Deana Moore Schoolcraft

2nd Place: Jenni Bateman, 3rd Place: Doug johnson

2nd Challenge - Sept 21st 2024, PROMPT: Open Subject, Open Medium, 16x20

Winners: 1st Place: Allyson Frink

2nd Place: Dale Evans, 3rd Place: Becky Altic

3rd Challenge - Jan 18th 2025, PROMPT: Still Life, Open Medium, 16x20

Winners: 1st Place: William Irelan

2nd Place: Allyson Frink, 3rd Place: Sheila Lamberson

4th Challenge - May 10th 2025, PROMPT: Open Subject, Open Medium, 16x20

Winners: 1st Place: Becky Altic

2nd Place: Alison Longfellow, 3rd Place: Allyson Frink

Email the MCAC Staff

Mission Statement: We encourage and promote the appreciation, study, cultivation, development, and practice of art for the benefit of all the people, cultures and communities of McLean County.


		"This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts"