• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
• George Dombek's artwork is in the lobby of PRI.

The Psychiatric Research Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has issued a call to artists for a juried exhibition to raise awareness of what PRI calls "the healing power of art."

Paintings, drawings and photographs are eligible; work must be 22-by-30 inches or larger. Deadline to submit is 5 p.m. April 26.

Judges are Greg Thompson, of Greg Thompson Fine Art, and ceramic artist Jane Hankins. Prizes of $1,500 for first place, $1,000 for second and $500 for third will be awarded. Selected submissions will be donated to the PRI's permanent collection, and several will appear in the recently opened women's inpatient unit.

To enter, submit an 8-by-10 inch PDF or low-res photo to mgfraiser@uams.edu. Artists whose work was selected will be honored at a reception at UAMS on May 15; May is National Mental Health Month.

• Hal Poth's Rocking Frog, a purchase award in 1994.

The Arkansas Arts Center has issued a call to artists for its 38th "Toys Designed by Artists exhibition," which opens in November. Deadline is Sept. 14. (I initially wrote the show is annual, but I have been corrected; it is every other year.)

The toy show is original to the Arts Center, inspired, a news release says, by Calder's circus mobiles, and is traditionally a great showcase of beautifully designed, sometimes whimsical, sometimes political stuffed, carved and welded things that twirl, roll on wheels and crank, etc. The show is open to all. (I initially wrote that it had been an invitational in the past, and it has (the 24th and 25th at least), but not for some time, apparently.) Artists may enter up to three works created since 2010.

Juror for the show is glass artist Tim Tate, co-founder of the Washington Glass School. His work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and The Mint Museum. (I think I got that right the first time!)

• Pearce's "Behind the Red Curtains"

If your metier includes small works on paper, now's the time to submit your work to the Arkansas Arts Council for the 2013 "Small Works on Paper" exhibition. Deadline is July 20 and entry forms can be found online here.

The juror for the 26th annual show will be Anne Austin Pearce, associate professor of art and director of the Greenlease Gallery at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo. Her own work, translucent, almost hallucinogenic images of the human profile, might give artists an idea of what she wants to see in art, so I've posted one of her pieces here, from a review in the New American Paintings blog.

Last year's exhibit set a pretty high bar for SWOP artists (here's the Eye Candy review from Jan. 6).

Arkansas artists may enter up to three works of art on paper (no larger than 24x24 inches) for a fee of $10 per entry or $25 for three entries. Works must have been completed within the last two years. Up to $2,000 is awarded in prizes; 2012 winners were William Barksdale of Cotter; Ginger Grahn of Paragould; Neal Harrington of Russellville; Dennis McCann of Maumelle, Jason McCann of Maumelle and Mike Means of El Dorado. Purchased work becomes part of the Small Works on Paper permanent collection. The 2012 show is at the Helena Cultural Center through June 25. It will be at the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff July 6-Aug. 11, Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia Aug. 20-Sept. 20, the Arts Center of the Grand Prairie in Stuttgart Oct. 3-29 and the Ashley County Museum in Hamburg Nov. 5-30.

• Mocked

The Bernice Garden, the public sculpture space created by Anita Davis on property she owns at Daisy Bates and Main Street, has issued the call for entries for the fourth round of sculptures to be placed there.

Any Arkansas artist or team of artists may enter. Winners will receive a stipend of $2,800, plus a $200 design fee to create a model for their project. Up to five sculptures will be considered. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, April 20.

Liz Sanders, coordinator, has the details; call her at 501-617-2511, e-mail bernicegarden@gmail.com or go to the Bernice Garden website.

About the image above: The Bernice Garden's signature nest sculpture is the creation of Little Rock artist and UALR faculty member David H. Clemons; it got the attention of a real mockingbird.

A change from the release below: Entry deadline is now Feb. 5.

• "Hearts-a-Bustin" by Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak, in the 2010 Delta.

The 54th annual Delta Exhibition of work by regional artists opens next January; artists have until Oct. 14 to enter up to three entries in the show. This year's juror: Tom Butler, executive director of the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Ga. (amd the former boss of the Arts Center's new director, Todd Herman). Butler organized the exhibition “Lines of Discovery: 225 Years of American Drawing" at the Arts Center in 2007.

Artists born or living in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas are eligible to enter. To see the guidelines and get entry information, go to www.arkarts.com. Exhibition dates are Jan. 27-March 28, 2012.

For more information, visit www.arkarts.com, e-mail delta@arkarts.com or call 501-396-0375.

• Imagine a mural here.

Calling all muralists! The Southside Main Street Project is tired of looking at the blank United Systems wall at 1201 S. Main St., across from Community Bakery! It's issued a request for proposals from artists interested in designing a mural for that wall and expects to spend between $10,000 and $15,000 realizing the work. Fund-raising has begun.

Artists should have experience designing murals and should submit at least 10 color images of the work. To get more about the selection criteria and the project, go here.

SOMA's Wall Mural Design Committee will start accepting proposals Friday, July 1; Aug. 31 is the deadline to submit.

Hillis Schild, chair of SOMA, expressed appreciation for United Systems for agreeing to the project in a press release announcing the call for artists.

• "8 Bomb," by Robert Reep, in 2011 "SWOP

The "Small Works on Paper" exhibit will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2012. Where has the time gone?

The Arkansas Arts Council, which organizes the traveling exhibit, is taking submissions for the show now until July 22.
Juror this year will be Marcia Goldenstein, an artist and art professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Here's the scoop: You've got to be an Arkansan, and a member of the Arkansas Artist Registry (free to join). Your work can be no larger than 24 by 24 inches. It has to have been completed in the last two years. It will cost you $10 for one entry, $20 for two, $25 for three, the limit.

Purchase awards of up to $2,000 will be awarded by the juror. The exhibit will open at the Laman Library in North Little Rock in January 2012. For more information and an application, go here.

• "June" by Patter Helmstrom

Patter Helmstrom, whose work appears here, is the judge for the 2011 "Small Works on Paper" competition sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council. The Arts Council is accepting entries for the year-long traveling show until July 23; more information here.

Does a judge select work that resembles his or her own? While some artists may favor work that falls in their particular genre — abstract as opposed to floral watercolors, for example — they might not like work in a manner similar to theirs, that could compete with their work.

Some folks entering won't give a fig. Some may have opinions on why judges choose what they do (perhaps art from here looks fresh to a judge from there?), and it would be interesting to hear from the experts — people who've competed. Comments?