Gordon Parks contest finalists' photos now on display

The Gordon Parks Museum and Center recently announced that the annual Gordon Parks International Photography Contest Finalists Exhibit is open for public viewing at the center, which is located in the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center at Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton.

The 16-photo exhibit is on display from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily through the end of October. The exhibit will then travel to other galleries for display throughout the year.

The annual Gordon Parks Photography Contest is conducted in tribute to Parks, a Fort Scott native, and is open to both amateur and professionals photographers who may submit up to four photographs that are judged as individual entries. The first place winner in the contest will be awarded $500, second place will receive $350, third place will receive a $200 prize, and up to three entrants will receive $50 Honorable Mention prizes for a total of $1,200 in prize money.

The theme of this year's contest is based on a quote by Parks.

"Freedom was the theme of all my work," Parks has said. "Not allowing anyone to set boundaries, cutting loose the imagination and then making the new horizons."

The contest, which has been conducted annually since 1989, has attracted photographers both locally and from around the world. The 90 entries received this year were judged by the photography staff at Life magazine. The finalists will be judged during the annual Gordon Parks Celebration of Culture and Diversity, Oct. 6-9, by Parks' daughter, Toni Parks, along with Bobbi Baker Burrows, the photography editor at Life magazine, and photographer Peter B. Kaplan.

The schedule of events for the celebration is now available by mail or online at www.gordonparkscenter.org. For more information, contact the center at (620) 223-2700, extension 515, or by e-mail at gordonparkscenter@fortscott.edu.