Turner, Bardin invited to exhibit art at Capitol

Published 9:40 am Wednesday, October 20, 2021

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A pair of local artists traveled to Atlanta last week, representing Bainbridge as winners of a contest put on by the Georgia Council for the Arts, “The Art of Georgia IV: Imagining Home; Landscapes”. The two winners, Becky Bardin and Lauren Turner, were both invited to present the art to and meet Governor Brian Kemp at the Capitol last Thursday.

Bardin, whose photo “Saharan Sunset” was one of the winning submissions, explained the contest to the Post-Searchlight.

“The Georgia Council for the Arts has a rotating group of regions of the state, that they choose artwork from… But, each region is highlighted for a specific amount of time,” she said.

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Southwest Georgia was the region of choice. Artists had to submit four pieces of art to be evaluated by a panel, with the winners being selected to be put on display in the Capitol, the Governor’s Office and Mansion. In total, 21 pieces of art by 14 Southwest Georgia Artists were chosen.

The winning artists were given the opportunity to meet Governor Kemp while at the Capitol.

“I thought we were going in there, it was going to be like a line, you shake hands, ‘Here’s my picture,’ then you’re done,” Bardin said. “Well, he took the time to talk to each of the artists. So we sat there and talked, which was very nice, he was a super personable, friendly and welcoming guy, asking about the photo.”

According to Bardin, her photo was taken last year when the Saharan dust cloud passed through. “I’m thankful to be able to represent the beauty of our corner of Georgia with the art I capture,” she said.

Lauren Turner, who’s submission “Hay There” won, also spoke to the Post Searchlight.

“I was really surprised to be picked, because unlike Becky, I’m not a professional photographer. This is just my hobby,” she said. “I was glad for Becky and me both to be able to show our part of the state… It was nice to be able to take a little bit of Bainbridge to Atlanta, sometimes they forget us down here in the corner.”