Sharon Austin named winner of

Biennial Open Art Exhibition 

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Sharon Austin has been selected as the first place winner for the 12th Biennial Open Art exhibition sponsored by the Associates of the Ontario Museum of History & Art.

 

Her work, “Painted Face,” was selected as the winner among about 60 works entered in the contest.   

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The other works received awards:

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Second place:  Hannah Raykhenberg: “I Will Bury You in Flowers #2”

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Third Place: Juan Varela: “Our Lady of the Angels”

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Honorable mentions:  Sarah Arnold: “Echo Park Tree”; Chris Keung: “On the Verge”; Stephen Rybacki: “Unoccupied”; Lisa Tomceszyn: “Salt Marsh Daylight.”

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City Council Liaison Awards: Dan Frembling: “Running Free”

 

Steve Thomas Photography/Conservation Award: Leah Knecht: “Double Exposure.”

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This year’s juror was Jennifer Kane, an artist, arts organizer, and teacher from Los Angeles, who currently resides in Joshua Tree. She serves as the Executive Director of Arts Connection, the Arts Council of San Bernardino County. 

 

The Ontario Open Art Exhibition gives regional artists of all ages and skills the opportunity to display their artwork and a chance to win a cash prize. 

 

The Museum Associates is a non-profit organization that actively supports educational programs and community events at the museum through volunteer staffing, fundraising, and membership.

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Yeu Q. Nguyen named new Museum Curetor of Exhibitions 

 

Yeu Q Nguyen as the new Museum Curator of Exhibitions is bringing, quite literally, a world of art experience to her position. 

 

A native of Southern Vietnam, Q immigrated to the US as a teen, bringing an unabridged compilation of the Sherlock Holmes stories, having been a real Holmes

fan. Her goal was to be able to read the entire

volume in its original language before her high school graduation; she accomplished this goal in her junior year.

 

Her first job as a teen was at Knott’s Berry Farm, where she painted pastel portraits of park visitors. She also won a scholarship in her senior year to attend a masterclass in figurative drawing at Laguna College of Art + Design. With the urging of her mother against a career as a “starving artist,” she decided to pursue a degree in literature, thinking she would become either a professor or a librarian.

 

Q attended UC Irvine on a research fellowship, and graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature and linguistics, having earned Phi Beta Kappa honors and awarded the School of Humanities’ Outstanding Researcher Award. Her research performed a critical close reading of Shakespeare’s tragedies through the lens of Hinduism and examined post-colonial influence in literature.

 

In the years after college, she has established herself as not only an expert on public art and community engagement, but also as a versatile artist with many exhibitions to her credit. Her interactive art installations and intricately crafted objects have been exhibited at such venues at the Southwest Museum, the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, the Geffen Playhouse, and the Armory Center for the Arts, which earned her a feature in the LA Times.

 

Beyond her studio practice, Q is an accomplished writer, teacher, and curator. She taught regularly at the USC Pacific Asia Museum, led masterclass and workshops per invitation by organizations such as Otis College and Intersection for the Arts, and curated shows across California.

 

Most recently, she received significant press recognition in San Francisco with her expansive exhibit, “Jade Wave Rising: Portraits of Power” at the SOMArts Cultural Center. The show celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander women leadership, agency, and resilience in a multitude of manifestations. 

 

In her own words, Q hopes to “expand the capacity of our museum exhibitions to inspire and energize the Ontario and Inland Empire communities by showing how the arts and artists can play an essential role in affecting positive changes in our lives.”

 

Fun fact about her: She goes by the nickname “Q,” a name that grew out of another of her ambitious undertakings – rock climbing. During a multi-pitch climb in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, Q discovered that sounds echoed as they travelled through the canyons, and multisyllabic names could create confusion, delaying their response in times of emergency.

 

Thus, she became just “Q” when communicating with her climbing partners during their precarious ascents. 

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