The Hays Arts Council (HAC) is hosting its 30th Annual Five State Photography Competition.  The contest is open to all photographers in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado & Nebraska.

HAC Executive Director Brenda Meder told Hays Post that all entries must be submitted ready to display in the gallery. She said that photographers are able to submit up to 4 entries. There are 3 categories: nature, people and open (open will be for everything not encompassed by the other categories). Each category will have cash awards for the top entries.

Meder says that this competition has no separation of entries based on age.

“There’s no age restriction, there’s no division between amateur and professional. Good photography is good photography. There have been times that people as young as 12 and 13 years old have had work in here. The judge doesn’t know that because there’s no place for age, education or experience on the application. There have been years when we didn’t know how young some of the photographers were until they happened to come to the reception.”

Entries will be compiled and prepared for judging until the entry deadline of November 8th. Judging will take place mid November. This year, the judge is Dan Coburn, an award-winning photographer and an associate professor of media arts at the University of Kansas. Coburn will have a presentation and lecture on the 14th of November which will be free and open to the public.

Meder says that in past years there have been between 450 – 500 submissions, and Coburn will narrow that down to 170 pieces which will be exhibited in the HAC gallery. The exhibition of these pieces will open as the anchor of the Winter Art Walk held on Friday, December 6

Anyone wishing to submit an entry can pick up entry brochures in the HAC office, call 625-7522 to have a brochure mailed out, or visit http://www.haysartscouncil.org/ and print one off.