Customs House Museum opens Rising Voices 2: The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realist Painters

Clarksville, TN – Rising Voices 2: The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realist Painters has made its way to the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center’s gallery walls and is open to the public for viewing.

The exhibit is organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art and The Pittsburgh Foundation and is held in conjunction with The Bennett Prize.

The $50,000 Bennett Prize is awarded biennially to a woman fine art painter whose principal artistic focus is figurative painting in a primarily realistic style.

The Bennett Prize seeks to encourage the pursuit of figurative realism by women painters and will provide support over two years to a select painter whose work demonstrates excellence in the genre.
 
The Customs House Museum is the only stop in Tennessee for the traveling exhibition. “We are thrilled to be one of six museums in the country to showcase this fabulous exhibition of talented women figurative artists,” says Exhibits Curator Terri Jordan.
 
Rising Voices 2 is comprised of paintings by the ten 2021 Bennett Prize finalists, 2021 Prize winner Ayana Ross and 2019 Prize winner Aneka Ingold.

Aneka Ingold’s dramatically staged paintings present mysterious allegories informed by the stories and lives of women.

Drawn from self-reflection and the shared experiences of peers and women throughout history, her narratives are relayed through symbols and patterns that culminate in a central, goddess-like figure.

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Also on display are paintings by the 10 women figurative realist painters named last fall as finalists for the second Bennett Prize, including winner Ayana Ross of McDonough, Georgia.

The other nine finalists are:

• Sophia-Yemisi Adeyemo-Ross; Providence, Rhode Island
• Tanmaya Bingham; Portland, Oregon
• Chloe Chiasson; Brooklyn, New York
• June Glasson; Millbrook, New York
• Holly Keogh; Charlotte, North Carolina
• Lavely Miller; Baltimore, Maryland
• Rebecca Orcutt; North Bend, Washington
• Su Su, Pittsburgh; Pennsylvania
• Amy Werntz; Dallas, Texas

“Beautiful, amusing, haunting, mystifying, celebratory and surprising, these artworks invite closer examination of the artists’ perspectives and offer the viewers an opportunity to evaluate their own lives, experiences, and perceptions of the work,” said Art Martin, director of collections and exhibitions at the Muskegon Museum of Art.

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Rising Voices 2: The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realist Painters and Aneka Ingold: Transfiguration are on display at the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center now through April 24th.

About the Customs House Museum

Located in the heart of historic downtown Clarksville, Tennessee, the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is the State’s second-largest general museum. The original portion of the building was constructed in 1898 as a U.S. Post Office and Customs House for the flourishing tobacco trade. Incorporating a number of architectural styles, the original structure is one of the most photographed buildings in the region.

With over 35,000 square feet of the region’s best hands-on activities and special events…people of all ages agree – the Customs House Museum is well worth the stop!

The Explorer’s Gallery is packed with fun, learning and fantasy in Aunt Alice’s Attic, McGregor’s Market and kitchen, and of course – the Bubble Cave! Finally, get “all aboard” to see our fantastic model trains. Our volunteer engineers “ride the rails” every Sunday afternoon from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.

Regular museum hours are 10:00am to 5:00pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:00pm to 5:00pm on Sundays. Adult admission is $7.00, Senior Citizens and College ID $5.00, Ages 6 to 18 $3.00, and under six years and Museum members are free.

The Customs House Museum is located at 200 South Second Street. For more information, call 931.648.5780 or visit their website at www.customshousemuseum.org