From the very beginning of last year’s festival planning, we worked with Majestic Galleries to showcase and celebrate artists telling important stories through their work. They planned and orchestrated two exhibits: one on book art and another on stories of different mediums. The pieces showcased throughout the exhibit were phenomenal.

​

The 2024 winner of The DENI Art Award is Brooke Ripley, the artist behind the painting titled “Degradation.” The placard beside her painting read:

• “Brittle and cragged, the soil of our industrial farms cry out for nurturing, for the rich mycorrhizal networks of generations past, for the nutrient richness of a polyculture, and for the microbes that once roamed its crevices. Compacted by the weight of farming equipment and suppressed by fertilizers and pesticides, few can call this soil home. As biodiversity loss is exasperated by monoculture farming, and as this loss inhibits natural carbon sequestration, I worry for those who will be caught in heat waves."

Reclaimed Earth Paints, Oil Paint, Rabbit Skin Glue, Canvas 72” x 72” x 2”.