OLD FORGE — View, the Center for Arts and Culture in Old Forge, New York, is pleased to announce the award winners of their Summer exhibition, “Unprecedented: Art Responds to 2020,” that were chosen by the exhibit’s three jurors, Stephen Horne, David MacDonald and Catherine Tedford.

“In April 2020, it became clear that COVID-19 was going to have a long-term effect on all of us. View proposed an exhibition of artworks created during and around this global crisis,” View officials noted. “We wondered what artists were making in their personal worlds. We asked them how they were responding to forced isolation; Were they in their studios? During this time of distance, changed routines, and new daily practices. How have these unexpected hurdles influenced them to create new work?”

“In the 81 works on display from almost 400 submissions from across the country, we can see that artists found new inspiration and means to depict their fear, frustration, loneliness, anger, loss, and hope. There are photographs, sketchbooks, paintings, videos, and quilts. Some are poignant, some beautiful, some are roiled in the difficult news of the year. Together they represent a collective response to a specific and difficult moment in time.”

First place was awarded to Emily Fisher from Bedford for “Alex and Zoe.” Fisher describes the work: “During lockdown, our family of five isolated together on our property where we have chickens, ducks and a dog. Since we were unable to travel or see people, I took to photographing our children at home with our animals. This is a portrait of our son, Alex, an identical twin, and our Pekin duck, Zoe. I was amazed at how relaxed they both were during the shoot. I love this image because it reminds me of an Old Master painting.”

Second place was awarded to Susan Murphy of Liverpool for “Scenes from a Year.” Murphy says, “I spent the year doing a lot of different artwork, but especially artwork based on my sketchbooks. This collage, my response to the events of the year, grew from that.”

Third Place was awarded to Jean Herman of Denver, Colo. for her work “Dance or Go Crazy.” This is what Herman said about her work: “2020, that unprecedented year that demands a response from all artists. Life had loosened a bit and I could now at least go for walks outdoors. But there was no social life, and another zoom interaction would drive me to go crazy.

“This piece is my response, I choose cheerful colors and inspiration from Picasso. The only figure I could draw was myself, so I created a quick line sketch that showed movement. Thus, “Dance or Go Crazy” evolved into a joyful piece that showed that creating art and having movement could overcome the socially dead lifestyle that was COVID-19.”

Honorable Mentions were awarded to “Quarantine Storytime” by Casey Clemetsen of Springfield, Pennsylvania and “Victorian Outlaw” by Ana Gadish-Linares of Richmond, CA. The jurors also selected three works for Judge’s Choice. Those works are by Raluca Iancu of Ames, IA, Nikyra Capson of Pocatello, ID, and Karen Karlsson of Pomona, California.

There is a Round Table Discussion available at ViewArts.org featuring the jurors of “Unprecedented: Art Responds to 2020.” The jurors answer a few questions about the exhibition and discuss some of the award winners.

“Unprecedented: Art Responds to 2020” is currently on display at View through Aug. 1. View is located at 3273 State Route 28. For more information, go online to ViewArts.org, or call 315-369-6411.