Winners Announced in Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center Competition, Exhibit Through Aug. 14
(BBAC, June 30, 2025)
The Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center (BBAC), a regional non-profit art center committed to promoting visual arts experiences for all, has announced the winners of its 2025 Michigan Fine Arts Competition (MFAC). The annual, professionally-juried, regional art competition, now celebrating its 44th year, is open to artists from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. The accompanying exhibition, sponsored by Bank of Ann Arbor/Birmingham, is free and open to the public, June 20 to August 14, 2025.
More than 600 works of arts were submitted for judging to the 2025 MFAC. From those, the competition’s 2025 Juror, Laurie Ann Farrell, selected 84 pieces to be displayed in the show, which encompasses all four of the BBAC’s exhibition galleries. From among these 84 works, Farrell further selected nine award-winning artists, who will share in cash and art materials prizes totaling $5,000.
MFAC 2025 Juror, Laurie Ann Farrell, is a globally recognized curator, art historian and writer based in Dallas, Texas. She has written extensively on contemporary art and culture, including exhibition catalogs, journal articles and artist monographs. As the former head of modern and contemporary art and curator at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Farrell oversaw one of the United States’ most important postwar art and modern art collections, including the GM Center for African American Art. Her work has been profiled and featured in: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, African Arts, Vogue, CNN, Washington Post, Detroit Free Press, ArtNews, Flash Art and Artforum, among many others.
“Jurying the 44th Annual Michigan Fine Arts Competition was truly an honor,” said Farrell. “It was a pleasure to tap back into Michigan’s talent as a previous Detroiter, and the range of artistic expression and technical ability far surpassed my expectations, with the exhibition holding many surprises.”
Farrell continued, “Visitors will notice a range of media and genres present…everything from the quirky to the photorealistic and fantastically bizarre has found its way into this show. The works in this exhibition also feature Michigan’s unparalleled natural beauty, wildlife, fantastic visions, friends and neighbors.”
Below are the BBAC’s 2025 MFAC honorees (alphabetically by last name). 2025 MFAC images are available HERE.
- Yeroham Ashagre (East Lansing, MI); Ode to Solitude; $1,000 MFAC Award
- Kevin Clifford (Clarkston, MI); Hope; $250 Corinne Maillard Robinson Award
- Anthony Dedakis (New Hudson, MI); Brave; $2,000 MFAC Award
- Hector Del Campo (Westfield, IN); Solitude of the Panda; $250 MFAC Award
- Lisa Farris (Bloomfield Hills, MI); Blue Midden; $100 Blick Art Materials Gift Card
- Sujin Jung (South Lyon, MI); Arden; $100 Blick Art Materials Gift Card
- Heather Macali (Farmington Hills, MI); Black & White XO; $500 MFAC Award
- Craig Paul Nowak (Farmington Hills, MI); Possibilities; $300 Blick Art Materials Gift Card
- Mark Schumack (Detroit, MI); No Cheese in China; $500 BBAC President’s Award
The MFAC exhibition is on display Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The BBAC is located at 1516 S. Cranbrook Rd. in Birmingham, Mich. More information is available at BBArtCenter.org.
Pictured: Kevin Clifford – Hope, Sujin Jung – Arden, and Lisa Farris – Blue Midden
About the BBAC
The Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts, has been providing, “art for all” since 1957, and is a regional art center committed to promoting visual arts experiences. Each year, more than 500 classes are offered for all skill levels and ages, preschool to senior citizens. Throughout the year, nearly 9,000 individuals are served by classes, workshops, art camps, ArtAccess programs, special events and exhibitions that are free and open to the public. The BBAC also supports hundreds of artists each year, with opportunities to teach, exhibit and sell their work. The BBAC is a 25,000-square-foot facility with nine classrooms studios, five exhibition galleries and retail Gallery Shop. For more information, visit https://www.BBArtCenter.org/.
