56th annual national juried artists exhibition: the summer show
exhibition opening july 11, 2026 at 6:00pm

Awards:
$2,000 Best in Show Sponsored by Heather Barranger Case
$1,000 First Prize Sponsored by Cathy Deano
$500 Second Prize sponsored by cindy & gary vaughan
$350 Third Prize sponsored by david haynes & dr. miguel rivera

About the Juror
MaPó Kinnord (b. 1960, Cleveland, Ohio) is a New Orleans-based artist and educator whose work explores ancestral memory, architecture, and the meditative potential of clay. After early training at Cleveland’s School on Magnolia and apprenticeships with production potters, she earned her BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art (1984) and her MFA from The Ohio State University (1994), relocating to New Orleans in 1995, where she now serves as Department Head and Associate Professor of Art at Xavier University of Louisiana. Drawing inspiration from the architectural traditions of Ghana, Kinnord’s ceramic sculptures reflect her extensive research in West Africa and blend structure with improvisation, often likened to jazz. A respected educator, she has taught internationally and at institutions including the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and Penland School of Craft, and her work has been widely exhibited, including her 2021 solo exhibition Outside In, Improvisations of: The Ceramic Work of MaPó Kinnord at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.