The Village of Elsah Museum will be celebrating the annual photography exhibit with a closing reception to honor the winners and participants. The outdoor reception will be Saturday, July 31, 2021 during open hours, 1pm to 4 pm. with refreshments served outside in Green Tree Inn’s gazebo that is in the next lot north of the Museum. Remarks and recognitions will take place between 1:30 and 2:00 pm. at 26 LaSalle Street, Elsah, Illinois.
The purpose of this annual exhibit is to celebrate and foster an appreciation of the beauty and unique qualities of the Village. This year’s exhibit was carried over from last year with the theme of “My Favorite Window.” If rain is predicted, the refreshments will include “take away” refreshments.
This year’s photography judge is Erica Popp, an artist and college instructor. She commented on the high quality of the submitted images. In addition to our purchase prizes, there were eight special recognition photographs. Historic Elsah Foundation featured six historic window photographs from the exhibit on their webpage.
This year’s Village of Elsah Purchase Prize (for a photograph taken in the valley area) is for “Barbara’s View” taken by the photographer, Barbara L. Clark of Elsah, Illinois. The purchase prize photograph will be part of the Village of Elsah Museum’s collection. As the winner of the Village of Elsah Purchase Prize, Ms. Clark also received the Green Tree Inn award of an overnight stay for two. The photograph is an image of a boat on the Mississippi framed by an interior window of Ms. Clark’s home.
The Greatriverroad.com prize recognizes a photograph that shows the beauty and significance of Elsah’s surrounding area including Chautauqua, the River Road, the nearby bluffs, and the Principia College campus. This year’s prize was awarded to “Foggy Illuminations” by Kim Howland of Godfrey, Illinois. The image stood out as a nighttime photograph of a Bernard Maybeck designed building on the Principia College campus. Like the Village of Elsah Purchase Prize, this photography will also become part of the Museum collection.
This is the second year for a Youth Award for a photograph submitted by a person between the age of 12 and 18 years old. This year’s winning photograph title was “Window Waves of Elsah” by Jonah Hosmer of Godfrey, Illinois. The judge said of this image that it made “full use of the opportunity to use the reflection in the old glass to create a whimsical double exposure effect and yet seeing through to the inside of the building.”
The following photographers are represented in the exhibit: Joan Baker, Jerry Benner, Barbara L. Clark, Linda Davis-Swink, Julie Elmendorf, Gayle Erxleben, Robert Erxleben, Jonah Hosmer, Kim Howland, Karen King, Hope Mader, Marty McKay, Yvonne Mossman, Bonnie Noeninger, Jim Noeninger, Patria Ott. Chuck Parr, Rosa Renner, Carolyn Schlueter, John Tomlinson, Ray Watsek, and Susan Young.
Next year’s photography exhibit’s theme is “Elsah Postcard.” The 2022 rules are posted on HEF’s website.
