Artists, put your pens to paper and your brushes to canvas, as a number of opportunities are approaching that are facilitated by the Watauga County Arts Council.

First comes the annual deadline for Regional Artist Project Grants. Grant applications are due Friday, Sept. 14, by 5 p.m.

The Regional Artist Project of Northwest North Carolina Grants Program is a partnership between the arts councils of Alleghany, Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties and the North Carolina Arts Council.

The grant provides support to a broad range of visual, performing, literary and interdisciplinary artists that will have a significant impact on the advancement of their career.

Next up is the Farm-City Photography Competition, with a submission deadline of Monday, Sept. 24. Held in conjunction with the annual Farm-City Banquet on Nov. 8, the Arts Council will recognize the photographer that best captures the spirit of agriculture in the county.

The winning image will be professionally framed, and one framed image will go to the artist.

Another contest deadline follows on Friday, Sept. 28. The start of a new tradition, the Arts Council will sponsor a Christmas Card Design Competition. The winning design will be chosen through a “People’s Choice” selection process, and the winner will be announced Nov. 2.
 

The award winner will be exhibited at the Friday, Nov. 2, gallery opening at the Watauga County Arts Council Gallery at 783 W. King St. in Boone. The winning entry will be replicated for production as Christmas cards and offered for sale for the benefit of the Watauga County Arts Council.  The artist’s name and appropriate contact information will be printed on the back of each card.

Prizes will be awarded for first-, second- and third-place entries.

Finally, the Arts Council is also accepting applications from artists for monthly exhibitions at the council’s gallery.

For more information and entry forms, check the Arts Council’s website at http://www.watauga-arts.org or call (828) 264-1789.