Norcross Gallery & Studios wraps 2024 photo contest with award reception and an open-to-the-public exhibit through December 21
“Norcross is extraordinarily picturesque,” observed Norcross Gallery & Studios member Anne Labaire a few years ago. That comment sparked a creative idea, and at Labaire’s instigation, the studio invited the community to share their photographic views of the city in the gallery’s first-ever photo contest in 2023.
Building on that initial success, the 2024 competition was developed in partnership with the Norcross Public Arts Commission, an official sponsor, with entries accepted from September 21 to October 20 of this year.
The city’s marketing agency, Accent Creative, created a bilingual campaign to promote the event, in keeping with the contest’s inclusive theme: Norcross — Our Home is Your Home or Mi Casa es Su Casa.
Selecting the winners
Free to enter, the contest garnered photos from 52 photographers — almost twice as many as they had received in 2023. To select the top photos from the 150+ entries, the gallery chose a jury of three people with Norcross ties to judge.
Beth Coffey, executive director of the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce; Mary Dowdy, owner of Reminisce at Antique Traditions and president of the Historic Norcross Business Association and Nicole Morgan, board member of the Norcross Public Arts Commission all weighed in to make the difficult choice and name this year’s top photos.
First place went to “Santa Comes to Norcross” by Michael MacManus, a lucky shot he was able to get in 2017 when a train stopped on the snowy tracks and friends posed with “Santa,” the train’s engineer.
In addition to 2024’s main winners and honorable mentions, two special awards were also given — one to an entry selected by sponsor April MacManus and one selected by printing sponsor Advanced Color Imaging.
2024 award winners
Though it was difficult to choose winners from all of the great entries, after much deliberation, the following photos were the ones that took top prizes:
First place: Michael MacManus “Santa Comes to Norcross”
Second place: Jennifer Mottola “Bubbles”
Third place: Alexander Garcia “The Light at the End of the Journey”
First place honorable mention: Linda Hinkle “Summer Rainbow in the Park”
Second place honorable mention: Jan Gaynor “White on White”
Printer’s award: William Ellis “Crisp Sunrise”
Sponsor’s award: Ethan Allison “Cowboy Taco”
Reception and award ceremony
A reception and award ceremony in December marking the end of the contest had a terrific turnout with the local photographers, friends and family, city officials and residents on-hand to celebrate.
Mayor Craig Newton and city council members had enthusiastically supported the photo contest, and Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Gaynor attended the reception to present the ribbons and awards to the first, second, third and honorable mention photos that had been selected by the jury.
Photos on display
Selected photos are now on display at Norcross Gallery & Studios, in the lobby of the Norcross Cultural Arts & Community Center and at City Hall.
For the competition and exhibit, the gallery received meaningful support with grants from Creative Gwinnett and the Georgia Council for the Arts as well as from April MacManus of Keller Williams and Advanced Color Imaging, who printed the images for display.
Other event sponsors included the City of Norcross and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Cast your vote for People’s Choice
Guests are invited to visit the gallery and view the exhibit in person on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through December 21 and cast their votes for the People’s Choice photo award. That award will be presented to the winning photographer at the conclusion of the event.
Norcross photo contest 2025
Norcross Gallery & Studios have also announced their 2025 photography contest — “Nature in Norcross,” a theme that ties in beautifully with the newly named Arboretum at Pinnacle Park, as well as Norcross’ status as one of the state’s Tree City USA designees and a certified Bee City USA.
Big plans for the new year
The gallery will continue celebrating the successes of 2024 in the new year with exciting new — and returning — events on the schedule. Their annual fundraiser and silent auction, community and local artists’ classes, public exhibits and workshops are just a few of things they have planned.
The first exhibit of 2025 will be a collaborative show by gallery members, all focused on abstract works, a nice departure from the usual general shows.
Ongoing classes will include:
- Figure and Portrait Study Sessions, Tuesdays 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., coordinated by Anne Hall and Lynda Ellis
- Daytime Open Studio, Thursdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., led by Anne Labaire
- Saturday Open Studio, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., led by Kathy Collins
Details
Norcross Gallery & Studios is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to access, education and cultural opportunities for the community and for support of artists. Located in downtown Norcross at 116 Carlyle Street, open hours are Thursdays through Saturdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information, visit norcrossgalleryandstudios.org.
