First Bloem 2023

CALL TO ARTISTS
Tulip Time is pleased to announce the 2023 First Bloem Festival Artwork Competition through which a work of art is selected for the official Tulip Time poster. In addition to the poster, the artwork is used on merchandise to be sold by Tulip Time.

First Bloem invited artists in Ottawa, Allegan, Kent, Muskegon and Kalamazoo counties to submit artwork for the official Festival Artwork Competition and a Viewers' Choice Award. All entries were due September 28, 2022.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION
Tulip Time's poster program began in 1982. Its long-standing history has produced a beautiful collection representing the festival and the Holland community. The poster is an integral part of Tulip Time and marketability of the artwork will be one of the prime considerations in the selection. Tulip Time reserves the right to alter the artwork for purposes of merchandising.

THE JUROR AND SELECTION PROCESS
This year's juror, Margaret Vega, will judge the submitted pieces and select the Top 20. The official Festival Artwork will then be selected from this Top 20 by Tulip Time.

Professor Margaret Vega teaches Undergraduate and Graduate Painting at Kendall College of Art and Design. She has also taught at Academia di Belle Arti in Perugia, Italy and Grand Valley State University. In addition to extensive national and international exhibitions, her work is in private and corporate collections in the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe; She is part of the Permanent Collection of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Giovanni Valdarno, IT, Fredrik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture, Grand Rapids, MI and is represented by Dacia Gallery, NYC and Via Design, GR, Ml.
Ms. Vega is Founding Director of SiteStudio, an organization that brings maker experiences to children in within their community, and Children Designing for Children initiative.

THE 2023 WINNER
Kristin Doversberger’s “Talk of the Town,” is the official Tulip Time poster for 2023. Doversberger’s piece is a paint and paper collage. Doversberger has a familiarity with different media; utilizing both to create a style that lends itself to flexible expression in an inspired form.

The Top 20 finalists for 2023 included:

“All are Welkom” by Cidy Bender
“Ready to Reign” by Betsy Buurma-Morton
“Grand Perfection” by John Cowden
“Tulips, Windmills and Mondrian” by Charles Cusack
“Talk of the Town” by Kristin Doversberger
"Tulip Patch" by Patricia Flynn
“Hollandia” by Thea Grigsby
“On a Spring Day” by Carol Hall
“Spring Blooms” by Karen Johnson
“Never Too Many” by Karen Johnson
“It’s Tulip Time!” by Steve Leary
“Tulip Daydream” by Andrea Rich
“Twee Landen, een Geest” by Lori Rivera
"Tulip Treasures" by Anne Rivers
"Evening Tulips” by Conni Schaftenaar
"Tulip Maze" by Michael Stewart
“Blended Colors of Spring” by Carolyn Stitch
“In the Round” by Sandy Swartzentruber
“Time to Celebrate” by Dian Taylor
"Let’s Dance" by Sally Yugovich

Along with "Talk of the Town" the remaining top 19 pieces will be on display May 6-14 at the Art in Bloom Fine Art Showcase. It's a wonderful opportunity to see these amazing creations up close, all celebrating the joy of Tulip Time. You can participate in the Viewers’ Choice Awards by voting for your favorite image at the exhibit!