Art at Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Art Inspiring Environmental Activism
Each year Nevada County Arts & Culture partners with SYRCL’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival to produce a visual art exhibition at both The Center for the Arts’ Granucci Gallery and the Nevada County Government Center in the Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District. Together, we offer a fresh dimension for more than 8,000 festival attendees to enjoy the work of our artists, and meet with filmmakers, social activists, and environmental leaders.
2027 Wild & Scenic Film Festival Art Exhibition
Displayed across two Venues:
The Granucci Gallery at The Center for the Arts
314 W Main St, Grass ValleyDisplayed | Feb 18—Mar 14, 2027
Reception & Awards | Thurs, Feb 18, 2027 / 5-7pm
Nevada County Government Center under Art in Public Spaces
950 Maidu Ave, Nevada CityDisplayed | Jan 18—April 30, 2027
Reception | Feb 2027 (TBA)
2027 Call for Art
Nevada County Arts & Culture and SYRCL’s Wild & Scenic Film Festival, invite artists to submit artwork for possible inclusion at the 2027 Wild & Scenic Film Festival Art Exhibition.
The 25th annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival will take place in the Grass Valley-Nevada City Cultural District, February 18–22, 2027. The festival uses environmental and adventure films to inspire activism, and we are seeking art submissions that do the same. Artists are encouraged to submit pieces that address a broad interpretation of the theme of “environment” as well as this years theme “Momentum.”
Juried art will be showcased at theGranucci Gallery within The Center for the Arts in Grass Valley and the Nevada County Government Center in Nevada City underArt in Public Spaces.
Questions? Contact art@wildandscenicfilmfestival.org or 530 264 7031
Submission & Award Information
Artists can submit up to 3 pieces per entry in a single category.
All artwork must be for sale.
Categories:
Submissions are accepted in three categories:
3-Dimensional
2-Dimensional
Photography
Theme:
While all artwork will be considered, we are especially interested in pieces that interpret our theme this year, “Momentum.” A word that captures both the spirit of the environmental movements the festival has championed for a quarter century and the forward force of the festival itself. Momentum recognizes that meaningful change is cumulative, built from years of collective action that compound over time into something lasting.
Selection & Awards:
Artworks are selected by the Festival’s Artwork Selection Committee, and scored based on the piece’s relevance to the theme, originality, and skill. Selected artists will exhibit their work at the 25th annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival in front of thousands of environmental filmmakers, celebrities, social activists, and attendees.
Visiting judge’s will select awards. Judge’s TBA. Artworks on display will be eligible for the following awards:
Best of 2-Dimensional
Best of 3-Dimensional
Best of Photography
Best of Theme: “Momentum”
Emerging Artist
Judges’ Awards
Award-winners will be recognized and presented with certificates at the Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony on February 18, 2027 at the Granucci Gallery.
Submit Your Art
Review the Artwork Submission Guidelines and 2027 Wild & Scenic Art Exhibition Terms & Conditions
Submit up to three artworks through the digital submission form
Questions? Contact art@wildandscenicfilmfestival.org or 530 264 7031
2026 Judges
SARA MORRIS
Sara Morris is the Ruth Rippon Curator of Ceramics at the Crocker Art Museum and a PhD candidate in the History of Art & Architecture Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara with a doctoral emphasis in feminist studies. Her research focuses on craft and material culture of the United States, with specific concentration on California's contributions to ceramics. At the Crocker, her duties include research into the collection, acquiring artworks, and organizing contemporary and historic ceramics exhibitions and publications. Morris brings a wealth of experience, having previously worked in museums and galleries across the country, including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.
AUSTIN PRATT
Austin Pratt is an artist, curator, and educator. He is currently the Curator and Manager of Sheppard Contemporary & University Galleries at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he also teaches courses Painting, Drawing, Gallery Practices, and in the low-residency MFA-Interdisciplinary Arts program. Recent curatorial practice includes the exhibitions, Wet Incantation: Poetics of Water & Language, and Toward a Tangled Turn: Knots, Nets, Threads, & Loops at Sheppard Contemporary. His work exists primarily through a studio painting practice and as the frontman for the collective psych/hardcore-punk outfit Spitting Image, which he cofounded in 2010. Not wholly dissimilar, his poetic writing and paintings reprocess fragmented image and pattern, with research interests in perception psychology and cultural geography. Pratt received an MFA in Painting+Drawing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His work has been featured in New American Paintings, and he has been a recipient of the Visual Arts Fellowship from the Nevada Arts Council.
CHARLIE BARBONI
Charlie Barboni has been involved in the fair, festival, and art show community for over 50 years, with extensive experience in curating, installation, and art show management. During his tenure as Marin County Fair Manager, he coordinated and supervised the Competitive Exhibit Department, where the Fine Art/Fine Craft Show yearly received over 2,000 submissions with approximately 1,400 selected for the museum-quality exhibition. Barboni has developed, curated, and/or served as a juror at 24 shows since his retirement in 2020, including the Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival, the Mendocino County Fair, and the Paint Sausalito Plein Air Event. Additionally, he has assisted in over 160 art and craft shows and provided art curation, exhibit design, and marketing for numerous Northern California institutions such as the Sausalito Center for the Arts and Toby’s Art Gallery.
The Invaluable Role of Visual Artists
Wild & Scenic Film Festival, produced by South Yuba River Citizens League, inspires environmental activism and a love for nature. It shares an urgent call to action, encouraging festival-goers to learn more about what they can do to save our threatened planet.
At Nevada County Arts & Culture, we support the role of local and regional visual artists as they, too, are recognized for the invaluable role that they perform in delivering a meaningful message about environmental activism and relationships between society and the natural world.
Chelo Montoya, Assistant Vice President of Education and Public Programs at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and Chair, California Arts Council.