Nicolet College will host the opening of the 26th annual Northern National Art Competition with a reception at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, in the college’s Learning Resources Center. Eighty-six works chosen from 433 entries to the competition will be displayed in the Nicolet College gallery.

The reception includes a light buffet and beverages, live music, and a commentary and slide presentation on the show by juror James R. Pace, Professor of Visual Art at the University of Texas at Tyler. Pace will also announce the winning entries and award some $8500 in prize money to winning artists.

“We see in this exhibition a diversity of aesthetic intent, process and material,” Pace said of the show. “There is elegant sophistication, gritty evidence of individual struggle, funky inventiveness, courageous commentary, and personal confession. Without exception, the artists who submitted work deserve our praise, encouragement and respect for having the discipline to pursue their work and their willingness to share their efforts with us.”

The Northern National Art Competition is a joint venture of the Northern Arts Council and the Nicolet College Art Gallery. Prize money is provided through generous donations from community sponsors and the Rhinelander community.

Tickets for the opening reception are available at L’Attitudes and Diane’s Frame Shop in Rhinelander, and no tickets will be sold at the door the night of the reception. Tickets may also be purchased at School of the Arts at Rhinelander which opens Saturday, July 20, and continues through Wednesday, July 24, at James Williams Middle School.

The Northern National Art Competition exhibit will be on display in the Nicolet College Art Gallery through Friday, September 6, and the gallery will be open to the public at no charge. Gallery hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday with special Saturday hours July 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.