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:
Granucci Gallery at The Center for the Arts
314 W Main St, Grass Valley
Displayed | 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 City
Displayed | 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 the Granucci Gallery within The Center for the Arts in Grass Valley and the Nevada County Government Center in Nevada City under Art in Public Spaces.
Questions? Contact art@wildandscenicfilmfestival.org or 530 264 7031
Submission & Award Information
Artists can submit up to 3 pieces.
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
2027 Judges
FRANCESCA WILMOTT
Francesca Wilmott is a Curator at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, where she oversees the Museum’s collections of postwar and contemporary art and photography. She holds a Ph.D. in art history from The Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Wilmott recently organized Gleefully Askew: A Gladys Nilsson Retrospective and co-organized Making Moves: A Collection of Feminisms. She is currently co-curating the Crocker’s 2028 exhibition West Up! Black Artists in California with Unity Lewis. Wilmott edited and contributed to the 2026 catalogue for Gleefully Askew, and her writing has appeared in Artforum, A World History of Women Photographers (Thames & Hudson, 2022), and Yoko Ono: One Woman Show (The Museum of Modern Art, 2015), among other publications.
JAZEL MUNOZ
@jazel.print | website
Living in Sacramento, Jazel Muñoz (they/she) is a queer Chicanx printmaker, zinester, activist, and curator. In 2022, they became the Gallery Curator and Art Handler for the WAL Public Market Gallery at the Warehouse Artist Lofts. Through their curatorial practice, they prioritize intersectional art and emphasize the importance of amplifying voices of marginalized people. Recent curations include "Together, We Rise," "Revolutionary Legacies," “Queer Youth Artists”, and "100 Under 100.”
Since 2017, Jazel has been a Visual Arts Instructor and Direct Support Provider for artists with disabilities at a local nonprofit art center, Work of Art. They are guided by the values of mutual aid and DIY culture, positioning themselves at the forefront with a community-centered perspective. And involvement with spaces, and events that cultivate it. Some of these include Latino Center of Art and Culture Zine Fest, the Sacramento Print and Zine Fair, Prism Zine Fest, and Sounds of Solidarity 916. They are an artist, and collaborator at Prism Art Space, which aims to foster interdisciplinary art practices that provide inclusive art experiences for the Sacramento community. Jazel is the 2026 curatorial mentor for the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Culture Program's Emerging Curator Fellowship. And a recipient of the 2025 Creative Growth Fellowship.
STEVIE SOARES
@stimulus.package
Stevie Soares is a Nevada County–based art professional, artist, curator, and entrepreneur whose work spans contemporary art, artist development, exhibition-making, and the broader creative economy. She most recently served as Director at Sebastian Gladstone Gallery in Los Angeles, working closely with artists and collectors while overseeing exhibitions and day-to-day gallery operations. Prior to Sebastian Gladstone, she worked with Tim Blum at BLUM, formerly Blum & Poe.
Soares is the co-founder of Ceradon Gallery, recognized as one of the few trans-owned and operated enterprises in the art world. Ceradon focused on exhibiting queer and trans artists from Los Angeles, New York, and Europe, building a distinct platform and a fervent community around its program. Diva Corp’s LA Matrix ranked Ceradon as more fringe than mainstream and more jaded than wholesome.
Alongside her curatorial and gallery work, Soares maintains an interdisciplinary studio practice encompassing drawing, digital media, and abstract tattooing. Her perspective as both an artist and arts professional informs her approach to evaluating artwork, with particular attention to honesty, intention, material language, experimentation, technical execution, and individual voice.She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Northeastern University and brings more than two decades of experience across the art, design, and business sectors.
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.
The Invaluable Role of Visual Artists
Chelo Montoya, Assistant Vice President of Education and Public Programs at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and Chair, California Arts Council.