Welcome to the ActLoCLE Best in Show Archive. Here you’ll find interviews with the artists whose work earned top honors in the ActLoCLE Online Juried Art Exhibition. Each conversation offers a look into their creative process, inspiration, and the stories behind their winning pieces.
Gwen Waight
Gwen Waight, an award-winning artist based in Northeast Ohio, has been creating found object assemblages for over a decade. She earned her degree in sculpture from the University of Iowa. Gwen won Best In Show in the 1st Annual ActLoCLE Online Juried Art Exhibition for her piece “where are you from?”
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Elliot Cushey
Elliot Cushey is a transmasculine artist and MFA candidate at Kent State University. Their work explores trans identity with a focus on craft, material, and historical precedent, bringing trans experiences into academic spaces and offering documentation of trans lives during a time of erasure. Elliot won Best in Show in the 2nd Annual ActLoCLE Online Juried Art Exhibition for their piece titled “Wood.”
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