The City of Oxford, Oxford Community Arts Center (OCAC) and the Public Arts Commission of Oxford (PACO) have teamed up to launch their third annual Call for Art initiative. After receiving 79 submissions from 37 artists, only 13 artists and their respective pieces were selected for a year-long exhibition in the Oxford Municipal Building.
Since its establishment at the end of 2022, PACO’s exhibition has continued to grow. In its first year, the Oxford Municipal Building housed 10 selected pieces through the 2023-2024 exhibition season. It then expanded to 12 pieces in its second year and will now have 13.
Ashley Keeton, an administrative assistant for the City of Oxford and deputy clerk, initially worked on the project part-time but has now taken on a more full-time role.
“I don’t know that [expanding the exhibit] was the intention,” Keeton said, “but it just kind of naturally happened.”
PACO dispersed press releases throughout the community to gather submissions, including Miami University art professors, Talawanda district art teachers, artists at OCAC and artists at the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum. Each artist could submit up to three pieces of any theme and medium.
“... We’re trying to encourage artists of all ages and experiences,” Keeton said.
PACO’s Call for Art is one of several projects the committee has organized since its establishment in 2018. Its first initiative “The Changemakers of Oxford,” called for a mural to be painted on the Oxford Municipal Building to commemorate Freedom Summer. While this project and other mural projects display outside artwork, Oxford’s Call for Art will feature pieces inside the building.
PACO's first initiative was to install a mural outside the Oxford Municipal Building commemorating Freedom Summer. The mural's design was created by selected artist Ella Cope.
Amber Franklin, Oxford City Council’s representative for PACO, helps connect the commission with the City of Oxford, allocating $5,000 of the city’s budget for these initiatives.
“I think the original desire was for there to be more of a presence of public art in Oxford,” Franklin said. “There are a lot of creative artists in Oxford, but there hasn’t been anything like what you see in Hamilton … so that was the original impetus.”
Franklin and six other members of the commission meet monthly. They began reviewing anonymous submissions in December, and each member picked their top 10 pieces. The commission then determined their final selections through a vote.
“We see public art as art that's both enjoyed by the public and viewed in public,” Franklin said, “but also art that's made by the public.”
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The selected pieces are then on display through the following year with a reception held at both the municipal building and OCAC in March 2025. Artists can choose if they would like to sell their work, and visitors can purchase the pieces through OCAC.
Katy Abbott, a professor of gerontology at Miami and executive director of the Scripps Gerontology Center, is one of the 13 selected artists for this year’s cycle. Abbott applied last year but will have her work on display in this exhibit for the first time during the 2025-2026 season. The OCAC is also displaying her artwork.
“I would consider it therapy, really,” Abbott said. “... I am a professor, and so that is the job that pays the bills, but it’s something that makes me a better human when I’m able to make art.”
In high school, Abbott worked with ceramics but has made glasswork her main medium focus since the 1990s. The piece selected for this year’s exhibition is a mixed media piece using paint, collage techniques and glass.
“I enjoy the challenge,” Abbot said. “I enjoy the problem-solving. I enjoy seeing this vision that I had in my head come to fruition.”
Melody Miao, a 14-year-old Talawanda High School student, was also a selected artist for the exhibition. Her artwork featuring watercolor and colored pencils will be on display for a second time this season after also being selected during the first year of Call for Art.
“I enter a lot of art competitions …” Miao said. “I think the ones that are more meaningful to me are ones like these, the local ones that help me connect with my community and share art.”
After taking standard high school classes all day, Miao finds art to be a form of expression.
“... Since most of my classes are in STEM or math, I honestly think art is really freeing in the sense that I can kind of do whatever I want,” Miao said. “I think it’s a great way to show my imagination and also be able to experiment with things.”
The 2025 Call for Art exhibit will open at the Oxford Municipal Building and OCAC on March 14 and will be on display throughout the year.
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