Kids Tent Art Contest Judges

Nihal Kececi:Luminous colors, painterly brushstrokes, and an intimate gaze characterize the subtle elegance of Nihal Kececi's figurative and landscape paintings. Bridging the gap between abstraction and representation, Kececi incorporates richly textured surfaces with ambiguous areas of complex hues. Kececi's romantic visions and intense color palette draw on her cultural background, while her discerning eye and innovative approach point directly to her scientific research and interests. http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/nihal_kececi.aspx

M. Gasby Brown:Entirely self-taught and inspired by visions, dreams and ideas, Gasby has become a prolific artist, painting over 100 pieces, capturing a variety of genres including abstract, realism and expressionism extracted from her life experiences and world view. Gasby draws particular inspiration from art greats William Tolliver, Annie Lee and Jacob Lawrence and has established her own signature painting style with the mixed media works of her "Praise" and "Celebration" series. Gasby resides in Fort Washington, Maryland. http://www.nopermissionneeded.com

Nil Şişmanyazıcı-Navaie:She is a communications and management strategist, the founder and president of Arts for Global Development, Inc; an advisor to numerous arts-infused development projects, and the creator/editor of internationally known art’ shake e-magazine that addresses interdisciplinary, cross-cultural and intersectoral issues in tandem with arts and development. Nil has given several presentations, led workshops, curated exhibitions, organized educational events, and published articles primarily on the arts and its involvement in the social sphere. Among those publications are 'Creative Change Worldwide (2005); and 'societal arts marketing: a multicultural, interdisciplinary, and international perspective' titled chapter in Arts Marketing book published by Elsevier (2004). http://www.art4development.net

Michele Cormier-Attfield:She was raised in Shediac, New Brunswick. She moved to Ottawa, Ontario in 1992 upon completing a Master's Degree in Public Administration. Intrigued by art, she discovered her passion for painting, advancing her skills through a combination of course work and her own experience. Her work includes an array of interesting subject matter, mostly driven by what captures her at any given moment. http://mysite.verizon.net/resxv1i2/michelecormier/index.html

Michelle D. Parrish is a curator, painter, photographer, and a writer. Her work is vibrant and laden with texture, color, and underlying patterns. Her paintings, while abstract, are deliberate in structure. As a photographer, she has an eye for the poetry and irony in life with a composition in her photographs much like that of her paintings, organic and utterly feminine.