Each year, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery hosts an event where people recreate works from the gallery’s esteemed collection. Participants set out to create a tableau vivant, or “living picture”, that is ultimately displayed in a festival setting on the gallery’s grounds. Creators, including students, community groups, organizations, households, and individuals, can spend weeks developing their own “masterpieces” to be exhibited in front of a live audience.
The winning tableau receives more than $1,000 in cash prizes!
Award Categories
- People’s Choice Awards (Households/Groups, Pets, Individuals, Schools)
- Best Tableau from the Albright-Knox’s Collection or AK Public Art
- Best Craftsmanship
- Best Use of Photoshop
- Most Creative Entry Using Household Items
- Best Use of Social Distancing in a Group
^ A re-creation of Giacomo Balla’s Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, 1912 (Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery)
Instead of canceling Art Alive in 2020, in light of COVID-19, the AK has opted to display the tableaux (re-creations of works) online. That means that each tableau will be viewable from home, instead of at the gallery. The schedule for this year’s virtual Art Alive event is as follows:
- Entry Deadline: April 29, 2020 ● 5 pm
- Online Voting: May 2–7, 2020
- Virtual Awards Ceremony: May 8, 2020 ● 12 pm
This highly anticipated interactive event has become an AK fan favorite year after year. Thanks to virtual technology, the show will go on once more, which is no easy feat. Looking on the bright side, in year’s past the event has been rained out. At least we don’t have to worry about the weather report in 2020.
You can also check out some of the incredible tableaux from previous years: Art Alive 2019, Art Alive 2018, and Art Alive 2017.
To learn more about the contest, click here.
Lead image: A re-creation of Thomas Le Clear’s Buffalo Newsboy, 1853 (Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery)