2022 Black History Month Art Contest Judges
Thank you to our judges, Denise Gunter, Sand Hook Oei, and Anaitté Vaccaro for lending their incredibly artistic eyes to this year’s Black History Month Art Contest!
Denise Gunter
Denise Gunter is a mixed media collage artist who has been practicing her art since high school. She works collaboratively with her clients to create unique one of a kind, personalized pieces.
A graduate of the University of Hartford with a BFA in Art Education her career expands four decades as an educator. While Denise put her personal love of creating on hold as she pursued her career as an educator and administrator for the NYC public school system, she always found a way to share her passion for the arts with her students and colleagues. Denise holds two Masters degrees in Education and still loves teaching others the creative process.
She can be found in her Avondale Estates art studio where she continues to share her love of painting, photography, collage and mixed media with clients. Her work is currently on display in juried shows throughout Atlanta.
Sand Hook Oei
New York native Sand Hook Oei is a contemporary Digital Artist, Illustrator, and Photographer currently living in Decatur, GA.
Oei’s colorful illustrations and photographs pay homage to her love of nature and to her interest in global, cultural artifacts. Her distinctive style shows off vibrant colors, a broad range of ethnic and indigenous iconography, and at times displaying a very light-hearted and whimsical approach.
Oei’s work consists of Illustrations of flora and fauna filled landscapes, bejeweled women set in colorfully lush environments, impressionistic still life imagery, up close views of foliage and flowers...all brought to life with an eye for what Oei finds “beautiful” in nature.
As the artist states:
“I love to create work that informs and inspires others to take a closer look at Mother Nature, and perhaps in return have much more appreciation of the world around them. The idea of beauty and the question of ‘what is beautiful’ is, of course, a subjective one. What I’d like to inspire is for those viewing my work to find something that elicits an appreciation of nature and how nature adorns. My vision for my work is to interpret and express nature’s brilliance; as I hope to inspire others to see the same”.
Prior to segueing into this new artistic career, Ms. Oei previously assessed over 20 years of extensive experience in the fields of Television, Music, Advertising and lastly Internet / Web technologies.
After success as a seasoned marketing executive with SONY Music, Inc., Oei initiated and developed a multi-media /web design company independently contracting under the name of SoVisual. There, she also currently continues to work with many talented programmers, designers, animators, videographers, and internet entrepreneurs.
Ms. Oei can be found working at her studio located at Little Tree Art Studios in Avondale Estates.
Anaitté Vaccaro
Anaitté Vaccaro is an international-award-winning Digital Scenographer, born and raised in Puerto Rico.
Digital Scenography is a term coined by Anaitté Vaccaro. Scenography as in Richard Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk meaning "total work of art"...Digital Scenography as in the creation and design of a total work of art via the integration of technology.
Anaitté's work spans from her experience in the area of art, installations, architainment, live production, theater, performance, visual effects for film and television, concerts, motion graphics, animation, new and interactive media. This, along with her creative vision, creates an interesting amalgam and unique artistic expression.
She has been granted two US Patents for her latest piece, The Perennial: www.soblime.com
The Perennial was awarded at CES 2020 by New Voices, CTA, and CES. It is a serviceable, interactive, sustainable, art sculpture with a goal for nationwide installations. The first Perennial commission, by PGAHC, will inaugurate in 2022. It will live in the busy New Carrollton Station, Maryland, adorning the entrance of the new WMATA Headquarters. Inspired by the devastation of Puerto Rico after Hurricane María and the US withdrawal of the Paris Agreement, it’s an ambitious project promoting sustainability and consciousness to make wellness ubiquitous for everyone.
Her work has been exhibited around the world. Anaitté as well as her work have been featured in numerous tv, radio, print and online publications.