Hurricanes Prompt Decision to Postpone 15th 'Art With A Southern Drawl'

With major hurricanes hitting five of the seven southern states from which the University of Mobile’s “Art With a Southern Drawl” regional art competition draws its entries, UM officials have decided to postpone the 15th show for one year.

“After studying our statistics of the past 14 years, it is obvious that many of our entries and winners have come from areas that were impacted this year by hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita,” said Charles M. Clark, director of “Drawl” and dean of the UM College of Arts and Sciences.

“Due to the devastation left by numerous hurricanes, I am afraid these states would not be able to support the competition this year, as they have in the past. Out of respect for these artists and the overall success of the competition, I feel this is a wise decision,” he continued.

The announcement came during the period in which the show usually issues its call for entries. The juried exhibit was scheduled to be on display April 2006 at the University of Mobile campus. Instead, the 15th competition will be held in April 2007.

Clark said the decision to postpone the show was hard to make from an emotional perspective.

“For 14 years we have built a reputation for a quality competition, and many of our winners have continued on to great success in the art world,” Clark said. “Making the decision to postpone was hard, but I believe it is in the best interest of the show. We want the 15th ‘Drawl’ to be outstanding, and we want the artists who have supported us to have the time and ability to participate.”

Clark added, “We looked at the numbers and saw how many of our entries last year were from areas hit by hurricanes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama and Florida. These are regions that have really supported ‘Drawl,’ and now they are focused on trying to recover from devastation.”

Clark said of the 572 entries for the 2005 exhibit, 239 were from areas that have recently been impacted by hurricanes. Of the 101 pieces of artwork accepted for the 2005 show, 71 were from artists in areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Texas and Alabama now impacted by hurricanes Katrina, Rita or Wilma.

Clark said the “Drawl” team, which includes assistant director Wanda Sullivan and administrative assistant Diane Seale, will be discussing ideas for making the 15th “Drawl” in 2007 the best yet. He said some ideas include featuring lectures on various art topics or a celebration of past winners, among others.