The Cottonwood Art Festival has selected its jury for its annual event to be held May 5 and 6, 2012, in Richardson, Texas.

Now in its 44th year, the Cottonwood Art Festival is the premier fine arts event in North Texas. The twice-a-year event generates more than $2 million in art sales annually. The festival has extended it hours and is set for 10 AM -- 8 PM Saturday and 10 AM -5 PM Sunday, May 5-6, 2012, at Richardson's Cottonwood Park, 1321 W. Beltline Rd. Admission and parking are free. Full details are available atwww.cottonwoodartfestival.com.

Serving as jurors for the May 2012 Cottonwood Art Festival are: Kenneth Craighead, Director of Craighead Green Gallery; Greg Metz, University of Texas at Dallas Senior Lecturer of Arts and artist; Gabriel Dawe, artist; and Diana Pollak, Director of the Creative Arts Center of Dallas. Approximately 800 artists submitted work for the 2012 festival. Jurors selected 250 artists to exhibit their museum-quality paintings, sculptures, ceramics, jewelry, fiber art, fine glass, woodwork, mixed media and photography. All art must be for sale.

Kenneth Craighead has been acting director for the Craighead Green Gallery since its conception. Craighead has had the honor of being guest juror for many exhibitions for area colleges and private institutions. Most recently he was the juror for the Texas Visual Arts Association and reviewed over 300 works presented by area artists. Craighead also held a teaching position at Brookhaven Community College for three semesters where he taught a course on "Seeking Professional Representation." He also has been involved with Emergency Artists Support League was formerly a member of the Uptown Business Association, is currently active with the Dragon Street Design Association and serves on the Dallas Art Dealers Association's Edith Baker Art Scholarship committee.

Originally from Mexico City, Gabriel Dawe moved to Dallas, Texas, where he received an MFA in Arts and Technology at the University of Texas at Dallas. His work is centered in the exploration of textiles, aiming to examine the complicated construction of gender and identity in his native Mexico and attempting to subvert the notions of masculinity and machismo prevalent in the present day.

Greg Metz has exhibited artworks nationally and internationally in a variety of venues including: Grand Palace, Amsterdam, Koln Cathedral, Koln Germany, General Post Office, Dublin, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Washington National Mall, Dallas Museum of Art, San Antonio Art Museum, Arlington Art Museum and numerous public and private collections. Metz initiated an Artist Advisory Board at the Dallas Museum of Art. He was the lead artist on the initial prototype for the Dallas Master Plan's 'Percent for the Arts Program' and later worked to establish Project Teamwork bringing art education into public schools through collaboration with the Dallas Museum of Art. He co-founded and chaired the Dallas Artist Research and Exhibition, a non-profit artist run organization whose mission was to show and support experimental artists and their research, which lead to his co-founding of the McKinney Avenue Co ntemporary, an alternative arts and performance center in Dallas.

Diana Pollak brings more than 30 years of nonprofit, marketing and public relations experience to her position at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas (CAC). A 2006-07 graduate of the Business Council for the Arts (BCA) Leadership Arts class, she came to the CAC in the summer of 2006. In just four years, she has been responsible for leading major facility renovations, increasing membership and class revenues, as well as hiring new sought-after instructors. She recently launched a purpose-driven advisory board for the Center. Her efforts have included several arts projects such as organizing a children's art exhibit for The Family Place's 10th Anniversary; serving on the steering committee for Childhood Revealed: Art Expressing Pain, Discovery Hope, a children's art exhibit presented at NorthPark Center sponsored by the Meadows Foundation and the Mental Health Association of Dallas; and serving on The Busi ness Council for the Arts' Artwork's Committee. She has served on the boards of The Family Place, Jacob's Ladder, The Pamela Blumenthal Children's Mental Health Fund and Youth First Texas. 

For more information on Cottonwood Art Festival, go to its website www.cottonwoodartfestival.com or to its Facebook page. Whether shopping for art, listening to music, enjoying the outdoors, or making art of your own, Cottonwood has something for everyone. There's an art to having fun!

Press release courtesy of the Cottonwood Art Festival.