CRS and a new organization and partner, Arts Trussville, collaborated to hold the first Cahaba Inspired themed art show in November 2023. The show celebrated the river and helped launch a new arts organization for Trussville.

We appreciate Dr. Graham Boettcher, the R. Hugh Daniel Director of the Birmingham Museum of Art, for serving as the juror. He selected 45 works for the show from over 130 submissions. Over 150 people attended the artist reception and announcement of cash prizes at Trussville Library on November 9, and many more visited the exhibit throughout November. 

Cahaba Inspired also featured special programs about the river. Poet and teacher Halley Cotton presented about her solo kayak trip down the river. Ben Wegleitner of The Nature Conservancy spoke about reconnecting the Cahaba with the Gulf to restore fish and mussel biodiversity. And we featured Hunter Nichols’ beautiful documentary about the Cahaba, “River Dreams.”

This themed art show explored our relationship to water and nature, embodied by the Cahaba River. The artistic process and the show encouraged artists and audiences to immerse themselves in experiences in nature. We hope the artwork inspires people to value and protect the Cahaba, an essential resource. Read more about the 1st place-winning artist Jessica McClurg and how the Cahaba inspired her in the Over The Mountain Journal. 

Cahaba River Society connects people with the river because we believe that people protect the places that they know and come to care about. Since many people connect to nature through the arts, we also form partnerships with artists, musicians, filmmakers, dancers, and creative writers to inspire myriad close connections with the Cahaba.

Contest Winners

1st place: Jessica McClurg, Birmingham
2nd place: Leah Hamel, Hoover
3rd place: Elisabeth Pellathy
Peoples Choice: Carole Schrading

Drawing/Printmaking Cahaba Design Award: Mimi Boston, Birmingham
Alternate: Kate Trepaigner, Birmingham

Painting Alabama Art Supply Award: Amy Peterson, Trussville
Alternate: Yun Jian, Hoover

Photography Whistle Stop Garden Shop Award: Virginia Mitchell, Springville
Alternate: LeighAnn Edmonds, Mount Olive

Mixed Media Marty’s Award: Gerda Carmichael, Birmingham
Alternate: Melissa Gilmore, Birmingham